26914: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Jailed Priest (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Dec 15 (AP) -- A jailed Catholic priest who had been
considered a potential candidate for Haiti's presidency may have cancer and
should be released to seek medical treatment in the United States, his
lawyer said Thursday.
   The Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, a supporter of ousted Haitian President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has declined an examination by government doctors
because he doesn't trust them, attorney Bill Quigley told reporters outside
the jailed priest's church in the capital.
   Dr. John Carroll, a supporter who examined Jean-Juste in jail, said the
priest has swelling in his neck and under his arms and an abnormal white
blood cell count, which are possible indications of cancer or an infection.
   "Every day that goes by, we are wasting time," Carroll said. "If this is
indeed cancer, his life is in danger."
   Michel Brunache, chief of staff for interim President Boniface
Alexandre, said government doctors had examined the priest and said there
was no indication that he had cancer.
   Jean-Juste has been jailed since July, when Haitian authorities accused
him of suspected involvement in the abduction and slaying of a well-known
local journalist. Authorities later expanded the investigation to include
alleged weapons violations. The priest denies the allegations.
   The investigating judge, Jean Perez-Paul, has declined to reveal his
findings but said he will soon forward his recommendations to a government
prosecutor.
   Jean-Juste, who has been compared to Aristide, a former priest, has
emerged as a prominent figure in the ousted president's Lavalas Family
party.
   Lavalas activists had attempted to register Jean-Juste as a presidential
candidate in elections, but Haitian authorities ruled he was ineligible
because he is in prison and could not appear in person to register his
candidacy.
   Haiti's national elections are scheduled for Jan. 8.