Andre Michel and Louis Newton St. Juste to Prosecute Martelly Family in Corruption Scheme

Haitian attorneys André Michel and Louis Newton St. Juste arrived in the U.S. recently to meet with representatives of human rights organizations (HRO). The reason for the visit was to obtain support for Michel and St. Juste's allegations that President Martelly's family has been engaging in corruption practices.

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Michel and St. Juste, who are practicing members of the Port-au-Prince Bar Association, spoke before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights about the continuing problem of corruption in the Haitian government. They met also with representatives of the U.S. State Department, Congress, and the Haitian Diaspora.

Together with HRO legal counsel, Michel and St. Juste have begun preparations to prosecute Sophia and Olivier Martelly, the president's wife and son, for diverting funds allocated to state programs for their personal use. Other government officials are said to be involved in the corruption scheme as well.

During discussions with U.S. authorities, a report from the UN Mission for Stabilization in Haiti revealed the extreme increase of drugs flowing into Haiti since Martelly took office in May 2011, further miring him and his administration in corruption activities.

Martelly defends himself and his family against the allegations by saying André Michel and Louis Newton St. Juste's claims are spurious. They are covetous of his power and status and no reason exists for his family to be robbing the state coffers because they are already rich.

The extensive publicity surrounding the corruption allegations has provoked death threats towards the attorneys, ostensibly emanating from inside the Martelly government.

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Read more: Newton St. Juste, Andre Michel, Olivier Martelly, Sophia Martelly, Human Rights, corruption

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