Three Years Later: The Jean Dominique Case and the State of Human Rights in Haiti

New York, April 3, 2003 -- Today, on the third anniversary of the assassination of Jean Léopold Dominique and Jean Claude Louissaint, the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) is deeply disturbed by and denounces the lack of any significant progress on this case.  “The publication of the Judge Bernard Saint Vil’s indictment last Saturday, March 22 -- which contains none of the evidence about the authors of the assassination uncovered in the work of his predecessors -- is an insulting and dismal end to three years of investigation,” said Dina Paul Parks, NCHR’s Executive Director.  “What should have been a hallmark case for restoring faith in the Haitian judicial system has instead become a feeble and cosmetic attempt at justice.  NCHR strongly supports the decision of Jean Dominique’s widow, Michèle Montas, to appeal these findings.“

Judge Saint Vil had provided the results of his investigation to the Port-au-Prince District Attorney’s office at the end of January.  However, in spite of a two-month delay, a watered down version of the indictment appears to have been handed down last week as if to serve as a sign of progress with respect to the March 30 deadline given to the Haitian government by the special OAS/CARICOM mission ten days before for creating the conditions of security and respect for human rights necessary for the preparation of elections.  In keeping with the established court procedures, the indictment should have been handed down a week after going to the District Attorney’s office. 

“The toothless findings of this indictment have dealt a crushing blow to the struggle to end impunity in Haiti,” said Merrie Archer, NCHR’s Director of Human Rights Programs.  “It does nothing to answer the real questions about who ordered this brutal assassination and why. The 33-page indictment did not reveal any new information but instead re-affirmed the culpability of several individuals already in custody.”

In a comprehensive analysis of the indictment, NCHR Haiti revealed substantial inconsistencies between the previous official documents published during the investigation – as well as questions about the indictment by the DA – and the “final” indictment.  Among the most striking of these inconsistencies, the DA himself asked for additional information to determine the identity of the intellectual authors of the crime.  In addition, serious accusations had been brought against individuals such as Senator Dany Toussaint and Willie Lubin, who were acknowledged by the judge himself to have shed some light on the case and who had implicated others who are not subject to the law in ordinary courts.  None of these details made it into this document.

These and other inconsistencies are distinct signs of both the irresponsibility of the judiciary and of its lack of independence from the government.  Of the three judges who have been assigned to the case, two are currently in exile due to their fears over the revelations of the investigation. The remaining judge has clearly chosen to avoid a similar fate by sanitizing his findings and removing any of the controversial evidence pointing to one or more masterminds behind the assassination. In addition, no investigation has been initiated regarding the Christmas Day 2002 attempt on the life of Michèle Montas, Director of Radio Haiti International, nor on the sustained threats that forced RHI to close its doors at the end of February. 

This is one in a series of cases that illustrate the progressive degradation of the human rights situation in Haiti. Beyond the wave of violence that accompanied the May 2000 elections and ensuing political impasse, the past five months in particular have witnessed a dramatic rise in vigorous and defiant protests against the Haitian government, its politics, and its policies in areas such as the management of the state university and hospitals, the manipulation and treatment of members of the judiciary, and its economic policies and fiscal management.  It has also been marred by a sharp escalation in violence and human rights abuses where impunity is the order of the day, including extra judicial killings; arbitrary arrest and detention; violent reactions to peaceful demonstrations; intimidation of journalists, human rights activists, members of the political opposition, the private sector and the judiciary; and the polarization and further entrenchment of political factions.

These incidents include, among many others, the following, which require full and impartial investigations:

·        On the early morning of December 8, 2002, three sons of Viola Robert of Carrefour were kidnapped then found shot, execution style.  To date, although an internal police investigation implicated several police officers in the case of Robert’s sons, no arrests have been made and no measures have been taken to bring any of the perpetrators to justice; 

·        In January 2003, two university students involved in protests against the governments’ policy on education and the state of the country were killed; and

·        In February 2003, NCHR staff members were threatened on two separate occasions because of their investigation and work on the cases of Robert’s sons and of the killing of an OP member from Petit Goâve.

NCHR Continues to demand that the Aristide Government take bold steps to counter the impunity in Haiti and reign in the politically-motivated violence that has gripped the country.  While the administration cannot do it alone, it has the primary responsibility for cooperating fully with and securing the necessary assistance from the international community in order to bring Haiti out its morass.