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Alert

Investigation into assassination of journalist Jean Dominique impeded again

(RSF/IFEX) - In a letter to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, RSF expressed its concern about the reduction in security measures for Judge Claudy Gassant, who is leading the investigation into the 3 April 2000 assassination of Jean Dominique, director of Radio Haïti Inter. The organisation asked that the judge's security detail be reinforced immediately. "It is unbelievable that the minister of justice would publicly declare that all possible means have been placed at the judge's disposal, when this is clearly not the case," stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. Ménard also protested police superintendent Evens Saintune's intimidation tactics against Judge Gassant. RSF asked the president to use all his influence to see to it that such actions are punished.




According to information collected by RSF, on 8 May 2001, Judge Gassant stated that he was concerned for his security and was prepared to resign unless the government reinforced his protection. The seven police officers who were assigned to his security were transferred and have not been replaced. The judge stated that at present he is only protected by four less well equipped civilians. "It is difficult for me to carry out arrests under these conditions," he underlined. Contradicting the remarks made by the minister of justice, who stated in late April that all the necessary measures for his protection had been deployed, Judge Gassant noted that he had not received the requested manpower. He also explained that he never received a response to a letter sent in early April to Minister of Justice Gary Lissade, in which he asked for bullet-proof vests, better equipment for the men assigned to his security and another vehicle.

Moreover, in a telephone conversation with RSF, Gassant said that he had been the target of several acts of intimidation by police superintendent Saintune in recent weeks. He reported that on 16 April, police superintendent Saintune, accompanied by a dozen armed men, stopped him and asked that he return his armoured vehicle to the Ministry of Justice. When Gassant refused to comply, the police superintendent got aggressive and slammed the car door on him as he tried to get out of his car. The judge, who was able to leave a few minutes later, finally returned the vehicle on 2 May, following two other altercations with police superintendent Saintune. According to Gassant, the minister of justice confirmed that he had ordered the police superintendent to demand the vehicle's return, without further explication. The magistrate, who had four vehicles in late March, was left with only one vehicle to carry out the investigation.

Gassant is the second examining judge to lead the investigation into Dominique's assassination. His predecessor, Jean-Sénat Fleury, abandoned the case after coming under pressure. Judge Gassant has himself been threatened several times. On 30 January, Member of Parliament Millien Rommage, accompanied by several heavily armed men, threatened to riddle his car with bullets "if he continued." Rommage is a political ally of Senator Dany Toussaint. Several people close to Toussaint had recently been heard in the case when Rommage threatened the judge.

In a report published on 2 April, RSF denounced the fact that the investigation was nearly cut short several times. In June 2000, Jean Wilner Lalanne, suspected of having served as an intermediary between those who ordered the killing and those who carried it out, died in suspicious circumstances after his arrest. In January 2001, the judge also met opposition from the senate when he asked to hear Senator Toussaint as a witness.