27190: Wharram (news) Jailed Priest in Haiti Gets Treatment (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Bruce Wharram <bruce.wharram@sev.org>

 ABC News
Jailed Priest in Haiti Gets Treatment
Priest Taken From Haiti Jail Into Capital to Medical Testing Laboratory
By BEN FOX
The Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - 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.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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