Death Threat - Haiti Observer Blog

Senior Presidential Advisor Joseph Lambert is being investigated for death threats against two members of Parliament, Deputies Sorel Jacinthe and Levaillant Louis-Jeune. The death threats occurred while Lambert served as President of the National Assembly. Jacinthe and Louis-Jeune alerted the human rights body, National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (NNDHR), and the agency began an investigation into the allegations.

NNDHR found evidence Lambert did indeed plot to end the lives of Sorel and Louis-Jeune, members of political parties, Espwa and INITE. NNDHR's findings prompted the deputies to file complaints with the Court of First Instance in Port-au-Prince on April 23rd.

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Claims against one-time Senator and President Michel Martelly's Special Political Advisor, Joseph Lambert, of his making death threats to them, have been filed by his former colleagues. Deputies Levaillant Louis-Jeune and Saurel Jacinthe, who worked with Lambert for INITE and LESPWA are alleging, by filing formal complaints with the Court of First Instance, that he has made threats against their lives.

The Government Commissioner, Me Lucmane Delile affirmed his receipt of the complaints in his role as Chief of Parquet. Delille has further stated a desire to become better acquainted with the circumstances before pushing forward with the pending lawsuits. Further corroborating the separate testimonies is Marie Yolene Gilles from RNDDH (National Network for the Defense of Human Rights) who confirms they were in receipt of sworn testimonies from Haitian citizens, though she declined to say specifically from whom. Details of the threats are scarce, but already tales of a plot to murder the two men, once Presidents of the Chamber, on April 29 have also been reported.

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A case too hot to handle. Judge Joseph Jeudilien Fanfan who was in charge of the rape case between Me Joshue Pierre-Louis and Danielle Marie Bernadin now has to worry about his own safety.

According to the information received at Haiti Observer office, Judge Joseph Jeudilien Fanfan received Death threat in case he remove the travel ban on former Justice Minister and current CEP President, Mr. Joshue Pierre-Louis. The alleged victim, Danielle Marie Bernadin, was heard by Judge Joseph Fanfan Jeudilien, accompanied by his lawyers.

Reynold Georges is confident that Judge Joseph Fanfan Jeudilien would be back on its decision as the situation did not for this action.

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Haitian-American human rights attorney and Director of Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), Mario Joseph, provides legal services for those incarcerated for speaking out against the government of Haiti (GOH). He also goes to bat for impoverished Haitians and citizens harmed because of their political beliefs.

Mario Joseph earned his university degree from École Normale Supérieure and studied at Gonaïves Law School. He began his career as human rights counsel for the Peace and Justice Commission of the Catholic Church. In 1996, he became a member of BAI.

Joseph's most significant case was the Raboteau Massacre trial, in which he was lead counsel, representing survivors of the event. The six-week trial ended with 53 convictions and punitive damages of $43 million USD, assessed against the offenders. Joseph did not stop with the Haitian convictions. He assisted the Center of Justice and Accountability to try other instigators involved in the Raboteau Massacre in the U.S. judicial system.

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Three Haitian human rights attorneys have been targets of death threats for their criticisms against the government of Haiti (GOH) over the last several months. Mario Joseph, Newton St. Juste and André Michel have also turned up on a list of dissidents the Ministry of Justice wants to arrest for unknown reasons.

The advocacy organization, Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), along with Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) have appealed to Haitian law enforcement, pressuring them to look into the sources of threats and scare tactics. They are also asking for a security detail to guard the attorneys.

Mario Joseph, Director of the International Lawyers Office, has been working on cases involving Jean-Claude Duvalier, former dictator of the GOH; the United Nation's part in the uptick of cholera cases; and illegal tenant evictions following the 2010 earthquake.

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