25274: Brianhaiti: (comments) Fwd: Half Hour For Haiti: Keep the Pressure on to Save Yvon Neptune (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Brianhaiti@aol.com

May 31, 2005

Half Hour For Haiti: Keep the Pressure on to Save Yvon Neptune

Thank you for everyone who responded to last week's appeal to support lawyer
Ira Kurzban, who was excluded from Haiti when he arrived at the airport as
part of a human rights delegation.  There is still time to sign that petition
(http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/Kurzban ).

Several action alerts were circulated a few weeks ago on behalf of Yvon
Neptune, the former Prime Minister and current political prisoner, who is on
day 45
of a hunger strike (started April 17) to protest his illegal imprisonment.
Those action alerts, including the May 3 Half Hour for Haiti, received a
tremendous response.  Unfortunately, that response was not enough, as Mr.
Neptune
remains in prison.

Mr. Neptune was brought before a judge last Tuesday, on a stretcher, for a
hearing that should have taken place 11 months ago.  According to several
reports, the judge did not make a determination as to whether Mr. Neptune
should be
freed, even though the Constitution requires such a determination within 48
hours of arrest (for Neptune, that was on June 29, 2004), so the detention is
still illegal.

A formal decision approving Neptune's arrest at this juncture will not
suffice.  First, judges in Haiti are not independent.  Earlier this year, the
Minister of Justice punished two judges who released political prisoners, by
illegally taking their cases away from them (see Declaration of Mario Joseph,
Av.* in
Yvon Neptune's case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights).
Last July the Haitian Judges Association protested widespread politicized
interference by the executive branch.  Second, a single short hearing does not
change the fact that the government has held Neptune for almost a year without
presenting evidence against him or otherwise seriously pursuing the case.
Third,
under Haitian law, pre-trial investigations may not exceed three months
without special authorization.  The "investigation" in this case has lasted
almost
four times that period, without any special authorization.

The Interim Haitian Government (IGH) is hoping that last Tuesday's hearing
will make us forget about Yvon Neptune.  The IGH has tried to sweep the issue
under the bed by barring Haitian and international reporters from seeing him
in
prison.  We need to show the IGH, and its international sponsors, that we will
not forget about Yvon Neptune or Haiti's other political prisoners.  Please
email, call or fax the embassies of the U.S., France and Canada, to let them
know that: 1) you are still concerned about Yvon Neptune's life, 2) justice in
his case requires dropping the charges and releasing him, and 3) those
governments can make that happen.

A sample letter and contact information is below, more information on Yvon
Neptune and his legal status, as well as links to other campaigns supporting
his
release are available at www.ijdh.org.

Background

Yvon Neptune, Haiti's last Constitutional Prime Minister, turned himself in
to police on June 27, 2004, as soon as he heard of a warrant for his arrest.
Since then, Neptune has remained in prison, and until last Tuesday, had not
been brought before a judge.

Neptune began his hunger strike on April 17, at first not even drinking
water.  Shortly before our May 3 action alert, an international medical team
announced that Neptune did not have long to live.  At about the same time,
Neptune
started drinking water and taking some vitamins, which has prolonged his life
up until now.  He is very weak, and growing weaker, although he is still lucid.

For several months, a host of voices,  from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
from the UN Security Council, from the CARICOM countries, human rights groups,
religious leaders and ordinary citizens throughout the world, have called on
the IGH to either let Neptune go to trial or let him go free.

The IGH does not allow reporters to talk to Mr. Neptune.  The Washington
Times reported last week that prison authorities gave its correspondent
permission
to interview Neptune, but higher-ups revoked it as the reporter was driving
to the interview.  Other journalists have had their requests denied or ignored.

The IGH is in a position to persecute Neptune because wealthy governments,
especially the U.S., France and Canada, put it there and continue to prop it
up.
 Those governments could ensure Neptune's immediate freedom by conditioning
future support on it.
______________________
Sample Letter

Dear Mr. Ambassador:

I am writing to urge you to act immediately to effect the release of
political prisoner Yvon Neptune.  As you know, Mr. Neptune has been held
illegally for
over 11 months.  Last Tuesday's hearing does not justify the detention
because the judge has not issued the required order, because the time period
for the
pre-trial investigation has elapsed, and because a single hearing does not
change the fact that the Haitian government has held Mr. Neptune for almost a
year without presenting evidence against him or otherwise seriously pursuing
the
case.  The Interim Government of Haiti's (IGH) claim that it is leaving the
case up to a justice system that has so far done nothing but persecute him is
meritless, especially in light of the IGH's prior illegal retaliation against
judges who release political prisoners.

The IGH must ensure that Mr. Neptune is freed by publicly informing the judge
that it no longer desires to prosecute the case against him. Your government
can ensure that this happens by informing the Haitian government that it will
withhold all support from the IGH unless it complies with the Haitian
Constitution and international human rights standards by immediately freeing
Yvon
Neptune.  Please act now.

Sincerely,
__________________________________________________
Contact Information:

U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, James B. Foley
United States Embassy
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Telephones: 011-509-223-4711, or 222-0200 or 0354
Fax: 011-509-223-1641 or 9038
Email to Dana Banks, Human Rights Officer: BanksD@state.gov
___________
Canadian Ambassador to Haiti, Claude Boucher
Embassy of Canada
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Telephone: 011-509- 249-9000
Fax: 011-509-249-9920
Email: prnce@international.gc.ca
________________________________________________

Ambassador of France in Haiti,  M. Yves GAUDEUL
Embassy of France
51 place des Héros de l'Indépendance - BP 312
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Telephone: 011-509-222-0952
Fax : 011-509-223 5675



Brian Concannon Jr.
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
www.ijdh.org

----- End forwarded message -----