Haiti's new justice minister
called on Wednesday for the release or trial without delay
of hundreds of prisoners being held without charge, which he
denounced as a violation of human rights.
Justice Minister Henri
Dorlean said it was unacceptable for judges and prosecutors
to use their powers to keep people in jail in violation of
the law and urged police and judges to make sure those who
are punished are real criminals.
"Depriving people of
their freedom is a serious matter and keeping people in jail
for months and months without trying them is a serious and
unacceptable violation of their human rights," Dorlean
told Reuters in an interview.
Human rights groups have
criticized Haiti's U.S.-backed interim government, installed
after the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in
February 2004, for illegally imprisoning members of
Aristide's Lavalas Family political party, including
ex-Prime Minister Yvon Neptune.
The U.N. special envoy to
Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdes, called on Tuesday for Neptune's
immediate release and said his detention was a source of
concern for the U.N. Security Council and secretary-general.
Aristide left amid bloody
rebellion and pressure to quit from Washington and Paris.
Elections to choose a new government are planned for October
and November, and U.N. peacekeepers are trying to stem
political and gang violence that has killed more than 900
people since September.
Dorlean, a former human
rights activist and adviser to President Boniface Alexandre,
took over as justice minister on June 22 following the
resignation of Bernard Gousse.
He said 95 percent of the
1,300 prisoners at the national penitentiary had been jailed
for months without being charged or tried and the situation
is the same in most of the Caribbean nation's prisons.
"The justice system
should not be an instrument for injustice and revenge and
while I am here, I won't allow that to happen," Dorlean
said.
"A judge cannot decide
to keep people in jail just because there is too much
criminality in the streets," he said.
Neptune was arrested on
allegations that he masterminded killings on Feb. 11, 2004,
in the village of La Syria, which Aristide's opponents have
called a massacre. Neptune, who served as prime minister
under Aristide, denies the accusations and says his
detention is politically motivated.
Dorlean said he had asked the
investigative judge in the case to release Neptune or
formally charge him, in which case he would be sent before a
criminal court to be tried.
Another leading figure of
Aristide's party, Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, has been detained
since July 21 on allegations he played a role in kidnapping
and killing journalist Jacques Roche. Jean-Juste has denied
the accusations.
