9566: Haiti / Assassination of Journalist Jean Dominique

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: "[iso-8859-1] Régis BOURGEAT" <ameriques@rsf.org>

<fontfamily><param>Geneva</param>Press freedom

12 November 2001


HAITI


Assassination of Journalist Jean Dominique


Reporters Without Borders and the International Alliance for Justice
for Jean Dominique express their concern that the Senate has yet to
vote on lifting the parliamentary immunity of Dany Toussaint.


In a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Yvon Neptune,
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Alliance for
Justice for Jean Dominique (IAJJD) expressed their strong concern that
three months after a request from the Minister of Justice the Senate
has yet to take a decision on whether to lift the parliamentary
immunity of Senator Dany Toussaint. The two organizations underlined
that the parliamentary commission charged with examining the request
only met for the first time five weeks after the transmission of the
request.


The two organizations asked the President of the High Chamber "to take
necessary measures so that the Senate answers the request from the
instructing judge without further delay". " As you yourself confirmed,
"this is in the interest and for the prestige of the Senate as an
institution", indeed this is why we think that the Senate cannot for a
moment give the impression of hiding behind questions of procedure."
wrote RSF and the IAJJD. These organizations expressed to Yvon Neptune
their hope that the Senate would lift Mr Toussaint's parliamentary
immunity "quite simply to allow justice to take its course". "The
refusal to lift his parliamentary immunity would represent a denial of
justice and would mean that the senator would remain a suspect in this
case" 


According to information received by RSF, on 10 August 2001, the
minister for Justice, Gary Lissade sent the request of the instructing
judge Claudy Gassant to the Senate asking for the removal of Senator
Dany Toussaint's parliamentary immunity. Senator Toussaint is
implicated in the inquiry into the assassination of journalist Jean
Dominique, director of Radio Haiti Inter and Jean-Claude Louissaint, a
security guard at the radio station. In a letter dated 16 August, Yvon
Neptune stated to RSF his commitment to see justice done. "This is in
the interest and for the prestige of the Senate as an institution"
stated the president of the Senate. However, Mr Neptune has on several
other occasions declared that the process of lifting parliamentary
immunity, for which there is no precedent in Haiti, will take time. The
parliamentary commission charged with examining this request only met
for the first time on the 17 September, five weeks after the request
was sent. 


On the 3 April 2000, Jean Dominique, Haiti's most renowned journalist
and political analyst was killed in the courtyard of the radio station
he directed, Radio Haiti Inter. Well known for his independent voice,
Jean Dominique was critical of former Duvalier officials and soldiers
as well as the bourgeoisie. More recently he criticized those that he
suspected at the heart of Fanmi Lavalas, the party of President Jean
Bertrand Aristide of seeking to "divert the movement away from its
principles". In his 19 October 1999 editorial the journalist clearly
laid out Mr. Toussaint's ambition. Mr Toussaint was indicted at the end
of May 2001.


<italic>Reporters Sans Frontières defends jailed journalists and press
freedom throughout the world, that is, the right to inform and be
informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Reporters Sans Frontières has nine sections (Austria,
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and
United Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok, Montréal, Tokyo
and Washington, and about a hundred correspondents worldwide.





</italic></fontfamily>
Régis Bourgeat

Despacho Américas / Americas desk

Reporters sans frontières

5, rue Geoffroy-Marie

75009 Paris - France


tél. : +33 (0) 1 44 83 84 57

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