Haiti Democracy Project

www.haitipolicy.org

Assassination of Journalist Jean Dominique

Reporters Without Borders and the International Alliance for Justice for Jean Dominique express their concern that the Senate has yet to vote on lifting the parliamentary immunity of Dany Toussaint. In a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Yvon Neptune, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Alliance for Justice for Jean Dominique (IAJJD) expressed their strong concern that three months after a request from the Minister of Justice the Senate has yet to take a decision on whether to lift the parliamentary immunity of Senator Dany Toussaint. The two organizations underlined that the parliamentary commission charged with examining the request only met for the first time five weeks after the transmission of the request.

The two organizations asked the President of the High Chamber "to take necessary measures so that the Senate answers the request from the instructing judge without further delay". " As you yourself confirmed, "this is in the interest and for the prestige of the Senate as an institution", indeed this is why we think that the Senate cannot for a moment give the impression of hiding behind questions of procedure." wrote RSF and the IAJJD. These organizations expressed to Yvon Neptune their hope that the Senate would lift Mr Toussaint's parliamentary immunity "quite simply to allow justice to take its course". "The refusal to lift his parliamentary immunity would represent a denial of justice and would mean that the senator would remain a suspect in this case"

According to information received by RSF, on 10 August 2001, the minister for Justice, Gary Lissade sent the request of the instructing judge Claudy Gassant to the Senate asking for the removal of Senator Dany Toussaint's parliamentary immunity. Senator Toussaint is implicated in the inquiry into the assassination of journalist Jean Dominique, director of Radio Haiti Inter and Jean-Claude Louissaint, a security guard at the radio station. In a letter dated 16 August, Yvon Neptune stated to RSF his commitment to see justice done. "This is in the interest and for the prestige of the Senate as an institution" stated the president of the Senate. However, Mr Neptune has on several other occasions declared that the process of lifting parliamentary immunity, for which there is no precedent in Haiti, will take time. The parliamentary commission charged with examining this request only met for the first time on the 17 September, five weeks after the request was sent.

On the 3 April 2000, Jean Dominique, Haiti's most renowned journalist and political analyst was killed in the courtyard of the radio station he directed, Radio Haiti Inter. Well known for his independent voice, Jean Dominique was critical of former Duvalier officials and soldiers as well as the bourgeoisie. More recently he criticized those that he suspected at the heart of Fanmi Lavalas, the party of President Jean Bertrand Aristide of seeking to "divert the movement away from its principles". In his 19 October 1999 editorial the journalist clearly laid out Mr. Toussaint's ambition. Mr Toussaint was indicted at the end of May 2001.

Reporters Sans Frontières defends jailed journalists and press freedom throughout the world, that is, the right to inform and be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Reporters Sans Frontières has nine sections (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and United Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok, Montréal, Tokyo and Washington, and about a hundred correspondents worldwide.