Amnesty International Report 2005 - Haiti

Covering events from January - December 2004

Scores of people were killed before, during and in the aftermath of a rebellion that toppled President Jean Bertrand Aristide. There were numerous reports of unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment by police forces. Dozens remained in detention without charge or trial including members of Jean Bertrand Aristide's government and high-profile supporters of his Fanmi Lavalas Party.

The judicial system continued to fall short of international standards, leaving the population without judicial safeguards and hindering the fight against impunity. There was no significant effort to recapture prison escapees convicted of grave human rights violations. The UN Security Council authorized international intervention in Haiti to deal with the political crisis after the rebellion and support the transitional government.

Background

In January, Haiti celebrated the bicentenary of its independence from France amid growing discontent and protest against Jean Bertrand Aristide's government. Repression of government opponents was harsh, carried out by police forces and armed gangs known as chimères, reportedly in the pay of the administration. On 5 February, conflict broke out in the city of Gonaïves and the insurgency quickly spread to other regions.

Insurgents were mainly officials of the former Haitian Armed Forces, disbanded in 1995, members of the disbanded paramilitary organization Revolutionary Front for the Progress and Advancement of Haiti (Front Révolutionnaire pour l'Avancement et le Progrès d'Haïti, FRAPH) and a criminal gang based in Gonaïves that called itself Cannibal Army (Armée cannibale).

The armed rebels operated under the leadership of Guy Philippe, former Haitian National Police (HNP) commissioner, and Louis-Jodel Chamblain, former second in command of the FRAPH and convicted perpetrator of human rights abuses. As the rebels advanced they helped detainees to escape.

On 29 February, President Aristide left the country in disputed circumstances while the rebels were threatening to march into Port-au-Prince. Boniface Alexandre, President of the Supreme Court, was immediately sworn in as the new transitional President. The same day, a Multinational Interim Force (MIF) was deployed in the country on a three-month mission authorized by the UN Security Council. On 9 March, Gérard Latortue was appointed interim Prime Minister after being chosen by a seven-member Council of the Wise acting in the absence of the parliament.

In June the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) took over from the MIF with a mandate, among other things, to support the transitional government in ensuring security and stability and to assist in the reform of the HNP.

In September, Hurricane Jeanne hit Haiti, causing flash floods that left thousands dead or missing in and around the city of Gonaïves. In the aftermath, distribution of international humanitarian aid was hindered by general violence and lawlessness. Armed gangs reportedly stole distributed foodstuffs from peoples' hands and sold them at high price, increasing humanitarian and security concerns.

Political violence increased dramatically in the capital after 30 September when there was a march by Fanmi Lavalas supporters. After that, numerous abuses, including the decapitation of three policemen, were allegedly committed by members of the HNP and armed gangs supposedly linked to the Fanmi Lavalas Party. In October, UN Civilian Police and HNP agents began joint operations in poor neighbourhoods in an attempt to curb endemic violence. No disarmament plan had been implemented by the end of the year and civilians continued to be killed by firearms on a daily basis. Demobilized soldiers and former rebels were acting as de facto authorities in several regions of the country, posing a serious threats to human rights.

Human rights abuses before the change of government

Human rights abuses committed during increasingly frequent street demonstrations continued 2003's political violence well into 2004. Police officers and armed government supporters were reportedly active in repressing anti-government demonstrations.

• On 7 January, Maxime Desulmant, a university student, was reportedly shot dead by government supporters during a demonstration. During his funeral on 16 January, student demonstrators carrying his coffin clashed with HNP agents and pro-government demonstrators in front of the National Palace. Police used tear gas to disperse the students and at least five demonstrators were injured.

Human rights abuses under the transitional government

Human rights abuses committed by the HNP continued to be reported under the transitional government. Demobilized soldiers and former rebels who gained control of most of the country before Jean Bertrand Aristide's departure acted unchallenged as de facto authorities in some areas even under the transitional government. In some communities human rights abuses were also reportedly committed by reinstated rural police, known as "section chiefs". "Section chiefs", officially disbanded since 1994, were formerly recruited from among landed peasant families to carry out police functions and were the local representatives of the government. During 2004 many of them reinstated themselves or were reinstated by demobilized soldiers.

Unlawful killings by police

There were several unlawful killings allegedly by police officers.

• On 26 October, according to witnesses, at least seven people were extrajudicially executed in Fort National, a deprived neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, by men wearing black uniforms and balaclavas in police-marked vehicles. The police reported that no operation had been carried out in the area, despite strong evidence to the contrary. MINUSTAH's civilian police component established a commission to investigate the incident but no further information was made available.

• In similar circumstances, police agents allegedly extrajudicially executed four adolescents in broad daylight at a road intersection at Carrefour Péan, Port-au-Prince, on 27 October. One of the victims had his hands tied behind his back.

Torture and ill-treatment

There were numerous reported incidents of ill-treatment, sometimes amounting to torture, at the time of the arrest and in police custody. Some of the victims were children.

• In October, 13-year-old R.S. (full name withheld) was reportedly kicked in the stomach and chest by police officers while detained at a police station in Martissant, Port-au-Prince. During the assault, he was sitting on the ground handcuffed and blindfolded and repeatedly asked to denounce the whereabouts of chimères. R.S. was transferred to Martissant police station where he was detained for a day before being released.

• At the end of October there were at least 10 people in police custody in Cap-Haitian, Haiti's second largest city, who had reportedly been ill-treated and beaten by the police.

Unlawful killings by 'section chiefs' and armed rebels

• On 30 June, in Ranquitte, Central Department, a man accused of theft was reportedly detained and beaten to death by the "section chief" who had been reinstated by demobilized soldiers.

• On 1 April in Savanette, Central Department, Plaisius Joseph was reportedly killed by members of an armed group associated with the demobilized military while they were executing an arrest warrant issued against people involved in a land conflict.

Arbitrary and illegal arrests

There were numerous reports of arbitrary and illegal arrests which violated constitutional provisions. Scores of people were taken into custody without a warrant issued by a judge or without having been caught in the act of committing a crime. Some arrests occurred outside the hours of 6am to 6pm permitted by the Constitution. In November, AI delegates visiting Petite-Goâve found that demobilized soldiers – acting as law enforcement agents with the complicity of the judiciary – were illegally holding four prisoners at the police station, used as their quarters after the police deserted the city.

• Former Senators Yvon Feuillé and Gérard Gilles, and former Deputy Rudy Hérivaux were arrested without a warrant on 2 October at Radio Caraïbes after they took part in a radio show. Gérard Gilles was released the following week but the other two remained in jail until 23 December.

Prison conditions

Conditions in prisons and other places of detention were harsh and in many cases amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. Overcrowding was commonplace. Several prisons across the country had not been repaired after they were attacked and partially or totally destroyed during the rebellion earlier in the year.

• In Hinche, at the end of October, 19 male detainees were held in a 5m x 4m cell built in a private house used by the police after the police station was burned by rebels in February. All the prisoners escaped on 1 December.

Human rights defenders and journalists under attack

Human rights defenders continued to be harassed and sometimes threatened.

• Rénan Hédouville, Secretary General of the Lawyers' Committee for the Respect of Civil Liberties, received several anonymous death threats by phone after the organization denounced human rights violations involving HNP officers and demobilized soldiers.

• Mario Joseph, a lawyer working for the International Lawyers' Office, received numerous death threats by phone. He represented several people detained without charge, all supporters of the former President.

Journalists continued to face intimidation and harassment for criticizing the transitional government or demobilized military and for reporting on human rights abuses. A number of journalists had to exercise self-censorship in relation to certain subjects to avoid politically motivated repression. Radio stations vocally denouncing human rights violations were targeted.

• Transitional authorities repeatedly changed Radio Solidarité's broadcasting frequency in an attempt to stifle its condemnation of human rights violations and criticism of the government's administration.

Defenders of workers' rights faced intimidation, harassment and death threats from police.

• On 24 January, 11 trade unionists were arrested and charged with conspiracy against state security.

• On 28 October, Paul-Loulou Chéry, General Coordinator of the Haitian Workers' Confederation, the largest workers' union in Haiti, was visited by six police officers who searched his house without a warrant and reportedly threatened to kill him if he did not present himself at a police station. Police vehicles were posted in front of the Confederation's premises for several days and the premises' security guard was arrested without charge. After the incident Paul-Loulou Chéry changed his address and restricted his movements.

Impunity for past human rights abuses

Impunity for past abuses continued. Before and during the rebellion, numerous detainees convicted of human rights abuses escaped from prisons. The transitional government made no significant effort to recapture them.

• Jean-Pierre Baptiste, also known as "Jean Tatoune", a former FRAPH commander, was sentenced to forced labour for life in 1994 for his involvement in a massacre in Raboteau, a poor neighbourhood in Gonaïves. He escaped from prison in August 2002 and was reportedly living in Raboteau itself.

• In September, Louis-Jodel Chamblain and Jackson Joanis, both convicted in absentia for participation in the 1994 Raboteau massacre and for the murder in 1993 of Antoine Izméry, a human rights defender and businessman, were hastily brought to court for a retrial of the latter case. The prosecutor reportedly failed to present the evidence or summon key witnesses from the first trial in 1995. The two men were acquitted of the murder but at the end of the year remained imprisoned awaiting retrial on the Raboteau massacre charges.

Violence against women

Many women were raped or gang-raped by members of armed gangs, demobilized soldiers and police officers. Several women told AI that they were too afraid of the police to report the crimes. Some women who had been raped during the military rule in 1991-1994 were in hiding after the perpetrators of such abuses were back in public life and freely circulating in the streets.

• On 13 September, D.P. (full name withheld), aged 19, was raped in her house in the presence of her two brothers by five men wearing black clothes and hoods. After the attack she did not receive any medical attention. In fear for her life or of being raped again, she left her home and lived on the streets.

MINUSTAH

MINUSTAH's deployment was slow. The military and civilian police contingents had not been fully deployed by the end of the first term of its mandate in November, thereby hindering the implementation of the mandate, particularly with regard to the protection of civilians and the monitoring of human rights. By the end of 2004, none of the human rights observers had been appointed. Little progress was made in setting up a comprehensive disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme for armed groups.

AI Country Visits

AI delegates visited Haiti in March and April and in October and November.