Haiti Insight Volume 7, No. 6

Ismene Zarifis, Port-au-Prince

A Strike Against Préval: Illegal Detention

At approximately 10 PM on Nov. 16, Leon Jeune, a former chief of the Haitian police, was arrested and detained by the Haitian National Police and charged with plotting against President René Préval. Jeune's detention was marred by, at the very least, questionable actions taken by Haitian law enforcement officials.

"NCHR is concerned that the authorities abused their power and disregarded legal procedures. It is important that national institutions, the HNP and the judiciary, maintain professional standards," said Pierre Esperance, director of NCHR's Haiti office. "If the police and the courts continue to conduct business irresponsibly, they risk adopting the unaccountability and arbitrary practices of the old system."

According to police chief Pierre Denize, the HNP searched Jeune's Port-au-Prince home because they suspected he was plotting against the government. When illegal weapons were discovered, Jeune was arrested.

Jeune, 61, was appointed Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice and placed in charge of the HNP by former President Jean Bertrand Aristide in October 1994. He resigned in May 1995. The following November, he became a Presidential candidate and pursued an endorsement from Aristide, who because of constitutional requirements could not seek reelection. Aristide went on to endorse Préval, who won the election in a landslide.

A Nighttime Search

An official with the Organization of American States/United Nations International Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH), who requested anonymity, said HNP officers were instructed by government commissaire (prosecutor) Jean Auguste Brutus to go to the Jeune residence with a justice of the peace, whose presence was required during the search to participate in the writing of the official HNP report. The MICIVIH official said once police arrived at Jeune's home attempts to contact the appropriate justice were unsuccessful, so a justice with no jurisdiction over the district, Rose May Milard, was summoned and came to the Jeune residence.

The police search started at around 9 PM and lasted until 2 AM. It was led by Aramick Louis, police commissioner for the Department of the West. "The police found M-16 guns and other weapons, police uniforms, ammunition and many kinds of evil plans. The plans included ways to divide, corrupt, and intimidate the national police," said Secretary of State for Public Security Robert Manuel at a Nov. 19 press conference. A 1988 decree makes possession of certain types of weapons (armes de guerre ) illegal.

After discovering the alleged evidence, police officers arrested Jeune and his chauffeur, Lony Benoit, and charged them with illegal possession of arms and plotting against the government. A MICIVIH official said although the Haitian constitution bands searches and arrests from 6 PM to 6 AM unless a suspect is caught carrying out a criminal act, a 1996 Ministry of Justice directive granted the police the authority to conduct searches at any time as long as a justice of the peace is present. The directive also permits the police to arrest suspects on the spot who possess high-powered weapons.

Illegal Detention

After being arrested, Jeune and Benoit were transported to a detention center, where they were held for more than a week without being interviewed by a prosecuting judge. This is a clear violation of the constitution which states that within 48 hours of the arrest, a judge must determine whether the charges against the prisoner are valid. The investigative judge can dismiss the case, or rule to keep the prisoner in detention and justify detaining the individual further while the criminal investigation continues.

In addition to protesting Jeune's detention, Jean-Claude Nord, Jeune's lawyer, declared if a police officer from the United Nations CIVPOL force had not been at the scene during the search, Jeune would have been brutally beaten by HNP officers.

In an open letter to the Haitian parliament written five days after Jeune's arrest, Yvette Jeune, Jeune's wife, charged that HNP departmental director Louis slapped Mr. Jeune three times and kicked him while police searched his residence. Mrs. Jeune also protested the ill treatment of her husband during his detention and demanded immediate action by the justice system. She wrote, "You must agree with me there is no difference between the method of prosecuting individuals today and that of yesterday."

Louis, during the Nov. 19 press conference, denied he had mistreated Jeune.

Article 25 of the constitution prohibits the use of unnecessary force when arresting or detaining a suspect. Article 147 of the Penal Code prohibits police or other government officials using force when executing warrants or performing other official duties.

Eleven Days Later

On Nov. 27, eleven days after the initial arrest, the chief judge of the court of appeals, Gabriel Castor, ordered the immediate release of Jeune and Benoit after determining their arrest and detention was illegal. Although article 26-2 of the constitution makes this type of court order enforceable immediately, even if the government appeals the decision, commissaire Brutus did not begin to implement Judge Castor's order until Dec. 1.  In the interim, a new judge took over the Jeune investigation and issued an order to hold Jeune and Benoit in jail.

Attorney Nord on Dec. 2 appealed the second judge's order to keep Jeune and Benoit detained. Finally, Jeune and Benoit were released on Dec. 11; but since judicial investigations are continuing, the state has the option of detaining them again -- as long as proper warrants are served.

"Besides the clear constitutional violations in this case, it is time for the Haitian parliament to clarify the law on searches and seizures. The Haitian constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and two treaties ratified by Haiti all restrict the ability of the state to conduct searches," said NCHR consultant William G. O'Neill, a former MICIVIH legal director. "Although heavy weapons were allegedly found in Jeune's home, we are concerned that nighttime searches, prohibited by the constitution except in the case of flagrant délit, undermine the liberty and security of Haitians.

"We are also alarmed at the illegal, prolonged detention of Mr. Jeune and Mr. Benoit and the prosecutor's failure to enforce a court order. These are grave threats to establishing the rule of  law in Haiti."