Human Rights First today called for the release of Father Gérard Jean-Juste, a tireless advocate for human rights and for the poor. He was arrested and jailed on Thursday, July 21, 2005, and is being held in solitary confinement at the Haitian National Penitentiary. During the week leading up to his arrest, Father Jean-Juste had been questioned by authorities who accuse him of a range of sweeping politically motivated charges.
“Courageous activists like Father Jean-Juste offer hope of a brighter future for Haiti,” said Neil Hicks, Director of International Programs at Human Rights First, “the interim government should support their work, not persecute them.”
After his arrest last week, Father Jean-Juste said: "The searches at the airport, the visits to the police stations, the mandate to appear before a criminal judge yesterday, and now this. It is all part of the effort to silence my voice for democracy."
This is not the first time Father Jean-Juste has been arrested for his legitimate, peaceful activities: in October 2004, he was arrested while running a soup kitchen for his church and imprisoned for seven weeks.
Background
Father Gérard Jean-Juste founded the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami, Florida in the 1970s, and served as its Executive Director for more than a decade. During that time, he worked closely with Human Rights First (then the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights) and others to help refugees fleeing persecution under the Duvalier regime. He returned to Haiti in 1991, where he became parish priest at the Sainte Claire Catholic Church.
After an armed rebellion ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 29, 2004, Father Jean-Juste became an outspoken critic of human rights abuses perpetrated by armed forces with ties to the interim government, led by Prime Minister Gérard Latortue. As a result of his activism, Father Jean-Juste has endured several arrests and imprisonment on trumped up charges.
