8907: Haïti : Two journalists detained (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: "[iso-8859-1] Régis BOURGEAT" <ameriques@rsf.fr>

<fontfamily><param>Geneva</param>Press freedom


17 August 2001


HAÏTI


<bold>Two journalists detained 


</bold>In a letter to Jean Gérard Dubreuil, state secretary for public
security, RSF protested the detention of <bold>Liberus Renald</bold>
and <bold>Claude François</bold>, journalists from the radio station
Rotation FM, and the seizure of one of their recordings. The
organisation asked that appropriate measures be taken against the
authors of their detention and that the seized materials be returned to
the journalists. "This action seriously undermines the right to protect
sources, which is a cornerstone of press freedom," said RSF
Secretary-General Robert Ménard. The organisation also recalled that in
a text adopted in January 2000, Abid Hussain, the United Nations
special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, clearly
established that imprisonment for press-related cases constitutes a
"serious human rights violation."


According to infomation collected by RSF, Renald and François,
journalists with Rotation FM, in Belladères (north-east of the
capital), were arrested during a police action in the radio station's
offices on 9 August 2001. The police officers seized a cassette that
contained statements by former soldiers who allegedly attacked Haitian
National Police (police nationale d'Haiti, PNH) installations on 28
July. After the journalists refused to hand over the recording, the
police officers punched and kicked them and took them to the Belladères
police station. Renald and François were released three hours later.
The radio station was forced to interrupt its programmes. They are
expected to be back on the air shortly.




</fontfamily>
Régis Bourgeat

Despacho Américas / Americas desk

Reporters sans frontières

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