#3486: Haitian held in killing of journalist (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

Haitian held in killing of journalist  By Reuters, 5/6/2000 

 PORT-AU-PRINCE - A man acquitted in the 1993 assassination of Haiti's
justice minister was arrested in connection with the recent killing of
the country's best-known journalist, local radio reported yesterday.    
Robert Lecorps was arrested trying to cross the border between Haiti  
and the Dominican Republic two weeks ago and is being held in a         
Port-au-Prince prison for questioning in the April 3 murder of Jean 
Dominique, owner and director of Radio Haiti Inter.''He is a person
known for alleged offenses. A crime had just occurred,and then he is
crossing the border, so he was detained. If he has nothing to do with
the crime he will be released,'' Justice Minister Camille Leblanc told
Radio Vision 2000. Lecorps was tried and acquitted in 1996 for the
killing of Justice Minister Guy Malary during the three-year reign of a
military regime that overthrew Haiti's first freely elected president,
Jean-Bertrand Aristide.Aristide was restored to power in 1994 by a
US-led international invasion.Dominique, a democracy advocate and
adviser to President RenePreval, was gunned down by unknown assailants
as he arrived at his station for his morning news program. A station
security guard was also killed in the attack. The killing occurred as
Haiti prepared to hold two rounds of legislative and municipal elections
scheduled for May 21 and June 25, and sparked fears of an election
period marred by violence.