NEWS FLASH

Victory in the Fight for Justice for the Guacimal Prisoners

"Prizon pou Kriminel! Libète pou Peyizan!"

Port-au-Prince, 21 August 2002
At a powerful and peaceful demonstration in front of the Ministry of Justice on Monday, August 19, 2002, more than fifty (50) human rights defenders and members of the union Batay Ouvriye gathered in solidarity, demanding the immediate release of nine (9) Guacimal peasants and union workers illegally arrested and arbitrarily detained since May 27 of this year.*

During the 3-hour sit-in, organised by the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organisations (POHDH), and Batay Ouvriye, demonstrators called on Justice Minister, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Brown, to manifest the principles of justice by ensuring freedom for the Guacimal peasants and union workers.

Several representatives of the three (3) organisations met with top justice officials to discuss the issues in question and to present the case, highlighting the gravity of serious human rights violations committed against the workers.

The demonstration found swift and concrete results. Seven (7) of the nine (9) prisoners - two (2) women who were being detained at Fort National, and five (5) men who were being detained at the National Penitentiary - were released yesterday, Tuesday, August 20, 2002. 

Immediately following the arrests in May, NCHR dispatched a delegation to Guacimal to carry out an investigation into the incident. Since that time, NCHR, in collaboration with POHDH and Batay Ouvriye, has been actively engaged in seeking justice for the peasants and union workers who are the victims of serious human rights abuses. Reports and several press releases have been published in addition to a number of press conferences held. The sit-in demonstration on Monday constituted a more aggressive response to the continued silence of the authorities regarding this case.

While extremely pleased with the results of the sit-in, NCHR remains concerned about the continued detention of two (2) of the workers, Mr. Urbain Garçon and Mr. Jérémie Dorvil. NCHR perseveres in its efforts and will continue to do so until the release of the remaining two (2) workers.