Allegation of arbitrarily arrest of candidate Roosevelt Augustin by Youri Latortue

It was claimed by Latortue that Augustin, who was elected as director of a school operating under the program of Free and Compulsory Education, committed fraud but Augustin, has since the very beginning, claimed that he was innocent. One day after Augustin declared his candidature for the post of Mayor for Gonaives, he was arrested.

It is interesting to know that Roosevelt Augustin was in direct competition with the brother of Youri Latortue (former senator and advisor to President of Haiti) for the post of Mayor. Because of this, many people came to the conclusion that the arrest was based on arbitrary grounds and that it was merely an act of political persecution.

Even weird was the fact that no arrest warrant was issued and that the alleged fraud remained unproven and nothing could have been proven even with a proper arrest warrant. Hundreds of residents of Gonaives protested the arrest and demanded release of Augustin and several school went into general strikes against the arrest.

During parliamentary hearing in the following weeks, Jean Renel Sanon, the Minister of Justice, was forced to release Augustin. Upon release, Roosevelt Augustin reported that the jails were under horrible condition and many prisoners have been there for decades but never been attended by any judge. He said that he expects to change the condition after becoming Mayor.

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Read more: Candidate, Jean Renel Sanon, arrest, Gonaives, Youri Latortue, Roosevelt Augustin, People

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