Freedom of the Press 2008 - Haiti

Status: Partly Free
Legal Environment: 15 (of 30)
Political Environment: 23 (of 40)
Economic Environment: 18 (of 30)
Total Score: 56 (of 100)
(Lower scores = freer)

The reduction in political tensions following the creation of a coalition government in 2006 continued to have a positive impact, and there was some progress in the struggle against impunity in relation to the murders of journalists in recent years. However, two journalists were killed as a direct result of their work.

The constitution explicitly upholds the rights of journalists to freely exercise their profession and forbids censorship except in the case of war. However, in practice, widespread poverty, a corrupt judiciary, and a tradition of excessively partial media coverage mean that journalists operate in extremely difficult conditions. The judicial system's failure to respond to numerous physical attacks against journalists, including murder, has cast a shadow over the media scene for many years. In this context, in August there was a significant departure from the norm when President René Préval joined forces with the media rights organization, SOS Journalistes, to launch the Independent Commission to Support the Investigations of Assassinations of Journalists. The commission was given access to police and court documents with the aim of re-starting investigations into the murders of at least 10 journalists. Within three weeks, two gang members received life sentences for their part in the July 2005 murder of journalist Jacques Roche. The commission's work bore further fruit on December 12 when two members of a pro-Lavalas Family Party community organization were sentenced to life for the December 2001 murder of journalist Brignol Lindor. The court also issued arrest warrants for five other members of the same organization and instructed a new investigation to be conducted with a view to prosecuting the intellectual authors of the crime.

The UN peacekeeping force, MINUSTAH, together with the national police force, carried out an offensive against armed gangs in late 2006 and early 2007. The subsequent reduction in violence in many parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, made it easier for journalists to go about their work, but the gangs remained a serious threat. Freelance photo-journalist Jean-Rémy Badiau was shot dead in front of his home in Martissant, in the south of the capital, on January 19. According to his family, he was probably killed because he had taken photographs of gang members. Alix Joseph, station manager and news journalist at Radio-Télé Provinciale in the city of Gonaïves, was shot dead on May 16. A journalist colleague said he had received threatening telephone calls railing against the radio's calls for the disarmament of local gangs. Two gang members were later arrested and charged with involvement in the murder.

In February and March, Robenson Casseus, a journalist at Radio Nouvelle Génération in Port-au-Prince, was badly beaten, had his house burnt down, and received anonymous telephone death threats. He believed that the attacks and threats were in response to his refusal to make favorable broadcasts on behalf of a candidate of an opposition political party. In November, Guy Delva, the Reuters correspondent, reporter for Mélodie FM, and head of SOS Journalistes, left the country for three weeks after he received telephone calls issuing threats and was later followed by men who appeared to be preparing an assassination attempt. Delva suggested that the death threats were in retaliation for his reports about the US citizenship of Senator Rudolph Boulos. According to the Haitian Constitution, someone who holds a foreign passport cannot be a Senator.

There are two newspapers published several times a week and four weeklies, all privately owned. Television Nationale d'Haiti is government owned, and there are several private stations. The illiteracy rate is well over 50 percent, making radio by far the most popular medium. There are more than 30 stations broadcasting to the capital and surrounding areas, and scores more in the provinces. There were no government restrictions on internet access, but usage is low – just under 8 percent of the population.