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24240: Mikelsons: (news) Fwd: Death Sqaud Leader Toto Constant Served with Lawsuit (fwd)




From: Nancy Mikelsons <Nancy.Mikelsons@pobox.com>
>
>
>  January 14, 2005
>
>  Contacts:
>
>  Center for Justice & Accountability (San Francisco,
>  CA):
>  Moira Feeney, Attorney, (415) 544-0444 x302,
>  mfeeney@cja.org
>
>  Matt Eisenbrandt, Litigation Director, (415)
>  544-0444 x304,
>  meisenbrandt@cja.org
>  Center for Constitutional Rights (New York, NY)
>
>  Jennie Green, Senior Attorney, (212) 614-6431,
>  jgreen@ccr-ny.org



>  hAITIAN DEATH SQUAD LEADER, toto Constant, to be
>  brought to justice for his
>  campaign of rape and murder
>
>  > > Courageous women bring civil suit FOR ABUSES BY
>>  > FRAPH
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > New York, NY: January 14, 2005.  Emmanuel "Toto"
>>  > Constant was served with a
>>  > lawsuit today that accuses him of responsibility for
>>  > torture, crimes against
>>  > humanity and the systematic use of violence against
>>  > women, including rape,
>>  > for the purpose of terrorizing the Haitian
>>  > population during that country's
>>  > brutal military regime in the early 1990s.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > Despite being the outspoken leader of the
>>  > paramilitary death squad known as
>>  > FRAPH (Revolutionary Front for the Advancement and
>>  > Progress of Haiti), Toto
>>  > Constant has lived and worked openly in Queens, New
>>  > York, for the last ten
>>  > years.  The U.S. government tried to deport Constant
>>  > in 1995, but suspended
>>  > its efforts and released him from detention after he
>>  > threatened on the 60
>>  > Minutes news program to expose information about the
>>  > CIA's role in the
>>  > formation of FRAPH.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the
>>  > Southern District of New York
>>  > by the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA),
>>  > based in San Francisco,
>>  > on behalf of several women who survived savage gang
>>  > rapes and other forms of
>>  > extreme violence, including attempted murder.  The
>>  > Center for Constitutional
>>  > Rights (CCR), based in New York, is serving as local
>>  > counsel.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > Following a violent military coup against President
>>  > Jean-Bertrand Aristide
>>  > in 1991, the Haitian Armed Forces trained and armed
>>  > members of FRAPH to
>>  > maintain control over Haiti's poor masses.  After
>>  > democracy was returned to
>>  > Haiti in October 1994, the government of President
>>  > Aristide issued a warrant
>>  > for Constant's arrest.  He fled and came to the
>>  > United States.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > All three plaintiffs in this case are women who were
>>  > targeted by Constant
>>  > and FRAPH as part of a systematic campaign of
>>  > violence against women.  Two
>>  > of the women were gang raped repeatedly by FRAPH
>>  > members in front of their
>>  > families.  One of the plaintiffs became pregnant and
>>  > bore a child as a
>>  > result of the rape she suffered.  FRAPH operatives
>>  > attacked the third
>  > > plaintiff, leaving her for dead.  Due to the fear of
>>  > reprisals, the
>>  > plaintiffs in this case have filed their claims
>>  > anonymously.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > The lawsuit is especially timely because Haiti is
>>  > again suffering from the
>>  > massive, sytematic human rights violations committed
>>  > during the 1991-94
>>  > military dictatorship.  Many of Constant's former
>>  > subordinates in FRAPH are
>>  > again wielding considerable power.   They have
>  > > embarked on a campaign of
>>  > abuses, including widespread rape, since President
>>  > Aristide was forced from
>>  > office in February, 2004.  Among the leaders of this
>>  > renewed violence are
>>  > FRAPH's former second-in-command, Jodel Chamblain,
>>  > and local chief Jean
>>  > Pierre (alias Jean Tatoune), both convicted
>>  > murderers.  In addition, three
>>  > members of the military government's High Command
>>  > who were deported from the
>>  > U.S. for their involvement in human rights
>>  > violations - General Jean-Claude
>>  > Duperval, Lieutenant Colonel HÈbert Valmond, and
>>  > Colonel Carl Dorelien -
>>  > were freed from prison and have not been
>>  > re-arrested.  CJA brought a case
>>  > against Dorelien before he was deported and obtained
>>  > a court order
>>  > preventing him from receiving nearly $1 million he
>>  > won from the Florida
>>  > State Lottery.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > The types of attacks suffered by the plaintiffs in
>>  > this case - the gang rape
>>  > of women by paramilitaries as a form of punishment
>>  > for the women's political
>>  > beliefs - have been occurring in alarming numbers in
>>  > recent months. One of
>>  > the plaintiffs in the suit against Constant,
>>  > speaking on behalf of all of
>>  > the plaintiffs, said: "We hope that the suit will
>>  > deter at least some of the
>>  > violence, by sending a message that anyone who
>>  > commits atrocities will no
>>  > longer be able to visit or live in the U.S. with
>>  > impunity."
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > CJA's Executive Director Sandra Coliver stated:
>>  > "Toto Constant's comfortable
>>  > lifestyle in Queens has enraged and offended the
>>  > Haitian community in this
>>  > country as well as human rights activists around the
>>  > globe. We are honored
>>  > to represent these courageous women who are taking
>>  > great risks by coming
>>  > forward.  They brought this lawsuit in the name of
>>  > the hundreds of women who
>>  > cannot speak out because of the violence that reigns
>>  > today in Haiti."
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > Commonly referred to as "The Devil," Toto Constant
>>  > has been the target of
>>  > several community protests in Queens. In November
>>  > 2000, he was convicted in
>>  > absentia in Haiti for his role in the notorious
>>  > "Raboteau Massacre" of April
>>  > 1994.  Until now, no court in the U.S. or Haiti has
>>  > forced him to face trial
>>  > in person for the human rights abuses he committed
>>  > against the people of
>>  > Haiti.  No one from the ranks of FRAPH or the
>>  > Haitian Armed Forces has been
>>  > held accountable for the hundreds of politically
>>  > motivated rapes that were
>>  > committed and continue to be committed against the
>>  > women of Haiti.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > CJA, based in San Francisco, has obtained favorable
>>  > verdicts in similar
>>  > cases involving human rights abusers from Bosnia, El
>>  > Salvador and Chile who
>>  > had come to live in the U.S.  The Center for
>>  > Constitutional Rights has
>>  > brought human rights cases against individuals and
>>  > corporations responsible
>>  > for human rights violations since 1980, when CCR
>>  > filed the groundbreaking
>>  > case which allowed those who have suffered human
>>  > rights abuses to bring
>>  > their claims in U.S. courts.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > Jennie Green, CCR Senior Attorney, commented:  "The
>>  > U.S. government claims
>>  > to be fighting a war on terrorism, all the while
>>  > allowing a man who
>>  > terrorized people in Haiti to prosper in our midst.
>>  > Documents released by
>>  > the U.S. government show FRAPH's role in human
>>  > rights violations.  Constant
>>  > as its leader must be held accountable."
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >
>>  > For additional information about the case, please
>>  > see CJA's website:
>>  > www.cja.org <http://www.cja.org/> .  For more
>  > > information on the current
>>  > human rights situation in Haiti please contact the
>>  > Institute for Justice and
>>  > Democracy in Haiti at info@ijdh.org or visit
>>  > www.ijdh.org
>>  > <http://www.ijdh.org/> .
>>  >
>>  > ###
>>  >
>>  > Moira Feeney
>>  > Staff Attorney
>>  > Center for Justice and Accountability
>>  > 870 Market Street, Suite 688
>>  > San Francisco, CA 94102
>>  > Tel: 415.544.0444 x302
>>  > Fax: 415.544.0456
>>  > www.cja.org
>  > >
>>  >
>>


-- 
   Nancy Mikelsons                Nancy.Mikelsons@pobox.com