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Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune finally Released from Jail

Posted by Benjamin Melançon - July 29, 2006 at 6:55 pm
After more than two years in prison following the U.S.-installed coup regime's seizure of power, Yvon Neptune, Prime Minister in President Aristide's pre-coup government, has been freed by the elected government of President René Preval.

After hospitilization for his greatly deteriorated health from his imprisonment, which included repeated hunger strikes in protest of the coup government's illegal actions, Neptune will return to his home.  His attorney expects all charges will be dropped.

Haitian former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune has been released from prison after serving more than two years without being convicted of any crimes.

He had been held on charges relating to the killing of opponents of ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide shortly before he was ousted in 2004.

Mr Neptune has always denied the allegations and held repeated hunger strikes while in jail.

He was taken by ambulance to a UN-run hospital for treatment on his release.

The UN mission in Haiti (Minustah) issued a statement saying the health of the 59-year-old politician had declined dramatically in prison.

A lawyer for Mr Neptune - who served as prime minister from 2002 to 2004 - said his client had been released for humanitarian reasons.

"After the hospital, he is free to go home. I'm confident that charges will be dropped," Mario Joseph said.

Earlier, President Préval had promised that the initiatives underway in the case of former Primer Minister Yvon Neptune will soon be visible:

Port-au-Prince, July 25, 2006 (AHP); President René Garcia Préval gave his assurance Tuesday that the results of the initiatives currently underway in the case of the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune will soon be visible.

The chief of state commented during a break at the international donors conference at the Hotel Karibe   Convention Center.

Yvon Neptune has been imprisoned for more than two years at the National Penitentiary on an accusation of responsibility in the pseudo massacre at La Scierie, a hamlet of Saint-Marc.  

The health of the former prime minister has deteriorated considerably due to a hunger strike that he has been observing for about 15 months to support his demand for unconditional release.  

Several civil society organizations asked Mr. Neptune last week to stop this form of protest and called on the Haitian authorities to intervene rapidly in this case to prevent the political prisoner from dying.  

President Préval declared that his government will do everything it can to ensure that justice triumphs.

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CARICOM welcomes Neptune's release

Submitted July 30, 2006 - 4:30 pm by Benjamin Melançon
Caricom welcomes release of Haiti's former leader, criticizes 'arbitrary' detentions

By The Associated Press, July 30 2006, Georgetown, Guyana:

The Caribbean Community regional group has welcomed former Haitian prime minister Yvon Neptune's release from jail but criticized the "arbitrary" detentions of other prisoners in the troubled country, the group said in a statement.

Neptune was released from a Haitian jail Thursday, more than two years after he was arrested on charges of orchestrating the killing of opponents of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide at the start of a rebellion that engulfed the country.

But Neptune's release "should not obscure the fact that a large number of persons supportive of former President Aristide arrested arbitrarily for what appeared to be political reasons under the interim administration have also been denied justice," the 15-member group, known as Caricom, said.  [...]

Still, the group praised Haiti's new President Rene Preval, who took power in May, for efforts in strengthening the nation's judicial system.

Neptune's release came a day after the regional alliance announced plans to give Haiti US$17 million (euro13 million) as part of an international effort to aid the impoverished nation of some 8 million people.

Haiti PM Neptune owed for jailing on false charges

Submitted March 9, 2007 - 4:26 am by Benjamin Melançon
The perpetrators of this injustice against the elected prime minister was the interim regime installed by the United States and supported by the so-called international community.  This inversion of law and liberty was also accepted with nary a word of protest by our freedom-loving media.  For black-and-white subversion of democracy by the United States and other would-be world powers, one doesn't have to look farther than Haiti.

Port-au-Prince, March 6, 2007 (AHP)- The Committee of Lawyers for the Respect of Public Liberties (CARLI) praised the decision Tuesday of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), ruling that reparations and compensation should be paid by the legitimate government of Haiti to former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, whose imprisonment followed by prolonged preventive detention was found to be illegal.  

Mr. Neptune was arrested by the Latortue regime's Minister of Justice, Bernard Gousse, and maintained in prison for close to three years following accusations made against him by organizations and individuals reputed to be close to the the Latortue government such as NCHR/Haiti and  RAMICOSM.

He was accused four months after the forced departure of President Aristide of responsibility in an alleged massacre said to have been perpetrated on February 11, 2004 in a district of Saint-Marc named La Scierie (96 km north of  Port-au-Prince).

According to CARLI Secretary General Renan Hédouville, the Haitian authorities should comply with this decision because, he said, it may not be appealed and the authority and jurisdiction of the CIDH was recognized by the Haitian State on March 3, 1998.  

The ruling must be respected in its entirety given the constraining nature of the text of the decision, declared Mr. Hédouville.

Several local and international sectors have said that senior officials of the de facto regime who kept Mr. Neptune in prison arbitrarily, risking his life, should be prosecuted wherever they are, along with those who invented the massacre of La Scierie.

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