Sophia Martelly - Haiti Observer Blog

This is something that you can expect to be big in the next several day.

Lawyer André Michel who filed the corruption complaint against First Lady Sophia Martelly and her son Olivier Martelly was arrested in Martissant

The arrest came after the Human Rights Lawyer André Michel parked his car near a police sub-station in Martissant. He had requested the presence of his attorney. As a large crowd began to protest the arrest, an impressive detachment of CIMO agents barricaded the police station in Martissant not to allow anyone to enter and did not take time to start firing tear gas on the crowd. Subsequently, André Michel was taken away.

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The narrative of Haiti's first family being investigated on corruption charges has just taken a new twist in an ever-widening net of conspirators plotting Martelly's downfall. Human rights attorney, Andre Michel, is representing Enold Florestal, a citizen who filed the complaint, accused First Lady, Sophia Martelly, and son, Oliver Martelly, with embezzlement of government funds. Florestal was arrested for his part in the killing of Frantzy Duverseau three years ago.

Michel claims Martelly government proxies bribed Florestal to withdraw the complaint. But he refused, and Judge Lamarre Belizaire, new on the case, pursued Florestal, and had him arrested. An outpouring of public condemnation against Belizaire made his task difficult. But he finally swore out a warrant to capture Florestal and his brother, Josue, incarcerating them for Duverseau's death.

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Judge jean serge joseph recently died of a cerebral hemorrhage two days after attending a meeting regarding the corruption case against First Lady, Sophia Martelly, and son Oliver. Some believe Judge Joseph's death came at the hands of the Martelly-Lamothe administration.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ), pressured to address Joseph's death, called for Parliament to form a committee to investigate the circumstances of the meeting. The Special Senate

The Committee's report concludes, after taking testimony from first- and second-hand sources, extreme pressure was exerted on Joseph to stop proceedings against Mrs. Martelly and Oliver Martelly. But the MOJ questions the conclusions of the Committee. It says prejudice and irrationality clouded the testimonies, and can't be given much credence.

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The recent and untimely death of Judge Jean Serge Joseph has some officials within the Martelly government disputing the official cause of Joseph's death, a cerebral hemorrhage. Judge Joseph was investigating First Lady Sophia Martelly and son, Oliver, on allegations they had been diverting government funds for their personal use.

In a conflict of interest involving Minister Jean Renel Sanon of the Justice Department, his department has been requested to explore the circumstances prior to Joseph's sudden death. However, Sanon is being regarded as a person of interest among some government officials.

According to sources, Sanon met with Judge Joseph at an attorney's office two days prior to Joseph's hospital death. They intimate Sanon directly or indirectly threatened Joseph. Sanon allegedly said if Joseph didn't close the corruption case against the First Lady and her son, there would be consequences.

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Here is the press conference conducted by the two U.S. Doctors at Hospital Bernard Mevs on Sunday July 14, 2013, following the sudden death of Judge Jean Serge Joseph. Contradicting rumors suggesting that the judge had been poisoned or assassinated, the doctors confirmed that the death came as a result of a stroke.

According to Dr. Vencent Degennaro, Judge Jean Serge Joseph was in very bad condition by the time he was brought to the Hospital as a result of a massive stroke. The Haitian judge arrived at the Hospital at 3:00 am on Sunday and died at 8:00 pm on the same day.

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The Haitian President, Michel Martelly was invited to participate in U.S. oldest civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP) national convention in Florida. The convention will run from Saturday July 13, 2013 and continues Wednesday of that same week

The NAACP will mark this year to major events in the history of movement: the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and also the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers.

More picture and information about Haiti and its relationship with Black Americans

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States. Its objective is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

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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.

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.

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Haitian human rights attorney Louis Newton St. Juste attended a hearing presided over by Port-au-Prince's Chief Prosecutor, Jean Renel Senatus, regarding mis-handling of state monies by First Lady Sophia Martelly and son Olivier. He and his colleague André Michel have spoken with U.S. authorities about the Martellys and corruption within the president's administration at large.

In a press release issued by the Government Commissioner's office after the hearing, Senatus declined to bring charges against the Martellys. He referred to the Code of Criminal Procedure Article 21 that, according to Senatus, forbids prosecution of both Martellys. He called St. Juste's tactics illegal because he has not filed the correct paperwork that would begin an action against the First Lady and her son.

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