14861: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Judges' Protest (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By IAN JAMES

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 17 (AP) -- Judges went on strike in Haiti Monday,
leaving their courtrooms empty to protest the suspension of a judge who was
accused of wrongly releasing a man in a drug trafficking case.
   The protest paralyzed court proceedings in the capital of Port-au-Prince
and other cities across the country. The strike grew from a Justice
Ministry decision last week to suspend Judge Josiard Agnant after he
dismissed a drug trafficking case, citing a lack of evidence.
   The judges say the government overstepped its powers and that judges can
only be disciplined after being tried before a judicial panel.
   "This is a question of principle. The decision was illegal," said one of
the striking judges, Petit Homme.
   The man freed in the case, Jean Salim Batrony, had been charged with
possession of 128 pounds of cocaine. The judge insisted there simply wasn't
enough evidence to go to trial.
   Sen. Prince Pierre Soncon, of the governing Lavalas Family party, said
the judge was rightly dismissed.
   "We want to fight against drugs, against impunity," Soncon said. "It's a
question of morality."
   Judges said they plan to stay away from work until the government of
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide reverses the decision.