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ACTION ALERT -
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY
Amnesty International Alert on Prison Killings
PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 36/063/2004
20 December 2004
UA 339/04 Fear for safety/unlawful killings
***
HLLN Note on the Amnesty International Alert on Prison Killings
A Toronto Star article by reporter Reed Lindsay reported perhaps as many
as 110 Haitian prisoners have been executed by the guards at the
National Penitentiary in Haiti.
(See,
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1103496609352
)
Below, Amnesty International makes an appeal to write to Leon Charles,
Haiti's National Police Director and Jean Pierre Daniel Audain,
the Chief Public Prosecutor in Port-au-Prince, with copies of the
letters to: the interim Gerard Latortue; Justice Minister Bernard Gousse;
Police Commissioner David Beer, and, UN Special Representative Juan
Gabriel Valdes to denounce the prison killings in Haiti, call for an
investigation, demand that the authorities provide security to all the
other detainees, particularly prison detainees who have been threatened
with beatings and executions if they talk about having witnessed the
massacre and allow detainees access to their families, lawyers and to
medical assistance if needed.
Please, if you choose to answer the Amnesty International appeal below,
do not forget to ALSO demand, especially to Chief prosecutor
JEAN PIERRE
DANIEL AUDAIN,
to immediately release all prisoners who have been ORDERED RELEASED
by a judge, such as 70-year old grandmother, Annette Auguste; Prime
Minister Yvon Neptune; Senator Yvon Feuille and the other political
prisoners who have been ordered released by judges, but REMAIN IN
PRISON.
At least three different representatives of the Haitian Lawyers
Leadership Network were told by a prisoner in this situation, that all
the prisoners who have been ordered released who remain in prison,
remain there illegally, virtually as hostages with no more court
remedies, on the order of the CHIEF PROSECUTOR in Port-au-Prince, Mr.
Jean Pierre Daniel Audain. The political prisoners who have been
ordered released ask that the international community, the U.N. and U.S.
Congressional representatives to intervene, on their behalf, as the US
administration supports and keeps the current Haitian government in
power.
Mr. Jean Pierre Daniel Audain and his superiors are arbitrarily
holding detainees, who were arrested without a warrant, who have been
vindicated before a judge and who have spent months unjustly imprisoned,
despite being ordered released by Haitian judges, in violation of
Haitian and international human rights laws.
(See
the Amnesty International Alert on Prison Killings below for the
requisite contact information.)
Marguerite Laurent, Esq.
Founder and Chair, Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
Dec. 21, 2004
*
Amnesty International Alert on Prison Killings
PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 36/063/2004
20 December 2004
UA 339/04 Fear for safety/unlawful killings
HAITI Prisoners at National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince
A prison riot on the night of 1 December left 10 prisoners dead and
around 40 injured, according to official figures, but inmates have
claimed that many more died, and that guards were "executing" prisoners.
Visits to the prison have been severely restricted, making
the true situation very difficult to assess. Prisoners who have spoken
to journalists are feared to be at risk of reprisals from
prison guards.
The riot took place at the National Penitentiary, which holds over 1,000
detainees, in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Officials claim that
prisoners who did not want to be transferred to other facilities broke
out of their cells, set fire to mattresses and used bricks, kitchen
utensils and water pipes as weapons against prison guards and the police
who were called to the scene. Some of the dead prisoners had been shot,
and others stabbed, according to Haitian National Police officials, who
gave no further information about the circumstances in which the men had
died.
Two prisoners and one hospital worker have contradicted the official
version of events, saying they saw many more than 10 corpses. One of
these witnesses, a prisoner released two days after the riot, told a
journalist he had seen the police open fire on the detainees, take
prisoners out of their cells and force them into a passageway to execute
them methodically. He said prison guards had beaten him and
warned him not to talk about what he had seen. He is now in hiding.
The director of the national police announced on 6 December that there
would be an investigation into the riot. However, he gave no
details, and three weeks after the riot no official information has been
made public, not even the list of casualties. This means that
prisoners' families still do not know whether their relatives are alive
or not.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible,
in French, English or your own language:
-
urging the authorities to order an independent and thorough judicial
investigation into the killings at the National Penitentiary
on 1 December, and bring those responsible to justice;
-
expressing concern at reports that prison guards have beaten and
threatened witnesses to the killings, and asking for all such
witnesses to be fully protected from any reprisals;
-
calling for detainees to be given access to lawyers, their families
and any medical assistance they may require;
-
reminding the authorities of their need to ensure that all military
police and prison guards are properly trained in accordance with
international standards on the use of force and treatment of
detainees, and are provided with the conditions and training to
perform their duties in such a way as to ensure the safety of both
detainees and themselves.
APPEALS TO: (please note that fax numbers can be extremely difficult to
get through to)
National Police Director
Monsieur Léon Charles
Directeur Général de la Police Nationale d'Haïti
Grand Quartier général de la Police
12 rue Oscar Pacot,
Port-au-Prince, Haïti
Fax: + 509 245 7374
Salutation: Monsieur le Directeur
Public prosecutor
Monsieur Jean Pierre Daniel Audain
Commissaire du Gouvernement près le Tribunal de première instance de
Port au Prince
Parquet de Port-au-Prince
Port au Prince, Haïti
Salutation: Monsieur le Commissaire du Gouvernement
COPIES TO:
Prime Minister
Monsieur Gérard Latortue
Premier Ministre
Ministre de l'Intérieure
Villa d'Accueil
Delmas 60
Musseau, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Fax: + 509 249 5561
Salutation: Monsieur le Premier Ministre
Justice Minister
Monsieur Bernard Gousse
Ministre de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique
Ministère de la Justice
19 Avenue Charles Summer
Port-au-Prince, Haïti
Fax: + 509 245 0474
Salutation: Monsieur le Ministre
UN Special Representative
Mr Juan Gabriel Valdés
Special Representative of the Secretary-General
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
387, avenue John Brown
Port-au-Prince, Haïti
Fax: + 509 244 3512
Salutation: Dear Mr Valdés
Mr David Beer
Police Commissioner
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
387, avenue John Brown
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Fax: + 509 244 9366
Salutation: Dear Mr Beer
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International
Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 31 January
2005. Internet communications are not secure and therefore Amnesty
International Ltd does not accept legal responsibility for the contents
of this message. If you are not the intended recipient you must not
disclose or rely on the information in this e-mail. Any views or
opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of Amnesty International Ltd unless specifically stated.
Electronic communications including email might be monitored by Amnesty
International Ltd. for operational or business reasons.
********
Forwarded by the Haitian Lawyers' Leadership Network
******
"Men anpil chay pa lou" is Kreyol for - "Many hands make light a heavy
load."
See, The Haitian Leadership Networks' 7 "Men Anpil Chay Pa Lou"
campaigns to help restore Haiti's independence, the will of the mass
electorate and the rule of law. See,
and
http://www.margueritelaurent.com/law/lawpress.html
or,
http://www.margueritelaurent.com/pressclips/newsessaysreflections.html
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