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27194: Craig (news) Jailed Priest in Haiti Gets Treatment (fwd)
From: Dan Craig
Jailed Priest in Haiti Gets Treatment
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 10, 2006
Filed at 10:12 p.m. ET
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- A jailed Roman Catholic priest, whose supporters
say is suffering from cancer and should be released for treatment in the United
States, was taken from his jail cell Tuesday to a medical testing laboratory in
the capital.
Authorities took the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste to the laboratory, and U.N.
peacekeeping troops stood guard outside the clinic.
Haitian police officials accompanying the priest declined comment.
Jean-Juste was jailed in July on suspicion of involvement in the abduction and
slaying of a well-known local journalist, Jacques Roche in July 2005.
Authorities have since expanded the investigation to include alleged weapons
violations.
The priest, who was in Miami when Roche was kidnapped, has denied the
allegations.
Mario Joseph, the lawyer for Jean-Juste, said he was told they were taking
Jean-Juste to confirm a leukemia diagnosis. The lawyer said he doesn't believe
there are any plans to immediately release him for medical treatment outside of
Haiti.
''If he is sick they need to release him,'' Joseph said.
Jean-Juste was in the laboratory for 30 minutes before he was escorted out and
driven away in a convoy that included U.N. peacekeepers and police. He was then
taken to another lab for more tests before he was returned to his cell in an
annex of the national penitentiary.
Jean-Juste has emerged as a prominent figure in ousted President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide's Lavalas Family Party, which remains a potent political force in
Haiti.
The priest's supporters have attempted to register him as a candidate in
upcoming elections, but authorities barred him from registering because he was
in prison.
Haiti's interim president on Tuesday confirmed that the country's repeatedly
postponed elections will be on Feb. 7.
Boniface Alexandre issued a decree urging people to vote on that date. A runoff
will be held on March 19 if needed.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Haiti-Jailed-Priest.html