22976: Esser: Assassination Trial Must Include Vigorous Prosecution of Human Rights Abusers (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

August 13, 2004

Contact Information:
Brian Concannon Jr., Director
BrianHaiti@aol.com
www.ijdh.org
541-432-0597
541-263-0029

IJDH Human Rights Alert: Haiti Assassination Trial Must Include
Vigorous Prosecution of Human Rights Abusers


The trial of two notorious Haitian human rights abusers, Jackson
Joanis and Jodel Chamblain, both convicted in absentia for the 1993
murder of businessman Antoine Izmery, has been announced for the week
of August 16-20. The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
(IJDH) is concerned that Haiti's interim government has not
adequately prepared the case, and will not vigorously prosecute the
defendants.

Antoine Izmery, a prominent supporter of President Aristide, was
murdered on September 11, 1993, during Haiti's de facto military
dictatorship (1991-1994). Mr. Izmery had organized a mass at
Port-au-Prince's Sacre Coeur church, to commemorate the anniversary
of the 1988 St. Jean Bosco Massacre. Soldiers and paramilitaries
dragged Izmery out of the packed church, in full view of
the Haitian and international media, the diplomatic community in
Haiti, and UN/OAS Human Rights Observers, and shot him on the
sidewalk outside.

Jodel Chamblain was the co-founder and chief of operations of FRAPH (
Front Révolutionnaire pour l'Avancement et le Progrès Haïtiens),
Haiti's most notorious death squad. He was also convicted in absentia
for murder in the 2000 Raboteau Massacre trial. After the 1994 return
of Haiti's Constitutional government, Chamblain fled to the Dominican
Republic, where he trained with other paramilitaries in exile. He
returned to Haiti in February, as a leader of the insurgency that
attacked towns in Haiti's north, killing police officers, destroying
prisons and terrorizing the civilian population. Under international
pressure, he turned himself into the police on April 22, 2004.

Jackson Joanis was a Captain in the Haitian Army, and head of the
Anti-Gang police, the de facto period's most feared army unit. Joanis
fled to the United States, but was deported back to Haiti in 2001,
because of his record of political persecution. He has also been
formally charged in the 1994 assassination of Fr. Jean-Marie Vincent.

In July, 1994, Chamblain and Joanis were convicted in absentia for
Izmery's murder. Under Haitian law, those convicted in absentia have
the right to a new trial. Haiti's justice system must respect that
right, but in doing so it has a legal and moral obligation to
vigorously pursue the prosecution. IJDH is concerned that the
prosecution of Chamblain and Joanis is not being seriously pursued,
because:

1) the authorities have allocated a total of five days for the trials
of Chamblain and Joanis, as well as five other cases. The murder
charges against them would require a jury, and five days is not
nearly adequate for a trial of this complexity. In contrast, the
Raboteau Massacre trial took six weeks.

2) the authorities have demonstrated a consistent reluctance to
prosecute human rights abusers from the de facto regime, including
Chamblain and Joanis. Chamblain turned himself in after an
international outcry, and only after negotiations with the
government, when the law required his arrest as soon as he stepped on
Haitian soil. Following the negotiations, Minister of Justice Bernard
Gousse admitted that the surrender had been negotiated, and declared
that Chamblain "had nothing to hide." This sent a signal, especially
to prosecutors who are appointed by the Minister, that Mr. Gousse had
already decided on the outcome. On March 20, Prime Minister Gerard
Latortue praised Chamblain and his colleagues as "Freedom Fighters."
Joanis escaped from jail on February 29, and was not re-arrested
until August 9, when he voluntarily turned himself in.

Joanis and Chamblain are the only two human rights abusers from the
de facto regime who have been pursued by the justice system, even
though many others had been convicted, or escaped. These include a
dozen people convicted in person at the Raboteau Massacre trial,
including FRAPH leader Jean Pierre, alias Tatoune and Army Captain
Cenafils Castera, and three members of the de facto High Command
convicted in absentia for Raboteau and deported from the U.S.
Other prominent fugitives from justice include former dictator
Prosper Avril, found civilly responsible for torture by a Miami
court, and Henri-Robert Marc-Charles, a top advisor in the Ministry
of the Interior, both ordered imprisoned pending trial for the 1990
Piatre peasant massacre;

3) there is no indication that the authorities have conducted an
adequate pre-trial investigation of the Izmery case. Under Haitian
law, the investigating magistrate in the case was required to look at
all relevant evidence, and interview all potential witnesses. The
trial was announced only three days after Joanis turned himself in.
Haitian and international human rights groups that are known to
possess information relevant to the case or to have access to victims
were never contacted for the investigation. In contrast, the Raboteau
trial was built on three years of pre-trial investigation, including
international expertise and eyewitness testimony from scores of
Haitian and in ternational eyewitnesses, and hundreds of documents.

4) it is unlikely that a judge who did want to conduct a fair trial
of Chamblain and Joanis would feel safe doing so. In March, the judge
who tried the Raboteau case was beaten by men claiming to be
retaliating for Chamblain's Raboteau conviction. On July 1, ANAMAH
the Haitian national judges' association, issued a press release
deploring the increase in the politicization of justice and illegal
arrests over the previous four months. Later that month, when a judge
in Les Cayes ordered the release of political prisoner Jacques
Mathelier, the authorities transferred Mathelier to Port-au-Prince,
where he remains in prison.

Chamblain's colleagues in the insurgency continue to control large
parts of Haitian territory. Rampant insecurity, including a wave of
kidnappings, afflicts the capitol. Most judges do not have a security
detail, many have no car, so they are highly exposed;

5) the systematic persecution and massive internal displacement of
Lavalas supporters makes it unlikely that witnesses, even if asked,
would feel safe testifying at trial. Prospective jurors, especially
those who voted for Haiti's democratic government (a majority of
voters) will be afraid to serve on the jury, leaving a pool biased in
favor of the defendants;

6) the lack of advance notice of the trial prevents effective
monitoring by journalists and national and international human rights
organizations. The Raboteau trial was announced well in advance, and
special arrangements were made for Haitian human rights
organizations, international organizations such as Amnesty
International and the United Nations, and journalists to observe and
report on the trial.

The family of Antoine Izmery, the victims of human rights violations
under the de facto regime and since, and Haitian society at large all
deserve a serious investigation, aggressive prosecution and a
quality, transparent trial of the Izmery case. Anything less is a
disservice to these victims and an encouragement to future atrocities.

For more information:

WWW.IJDH.ORG (reports on current human rights conditions in Haiti,
legal analyses)

WWW.AMNESTY.ORG (reports on current human rights conditions in Haiti,
including a press release following Chamblain's March arrest)

WWW. NCHR.ORG (press releases from Haiti (8/12/04) and New York
(8/13/04) regarding the trial
.