27192: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Jailed Priest (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Posted by Chamberlain:


   By BEN FOX

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan 10 (AP) -- A jailed Roman Catholic priest, whose
supporters say is suffering from cancer and should be released for
treatment in the United States, was taken from his jail cell Tuesday to a
medical testing laboratory in the capital.
   Authorities took the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste to the laboratory, and U.N.
peacekeeping troops stood guard outside the clinic.
   Haitian police officials accompanying the priest declined comment.
   Jean-Juste was jailed in July on suspicion of involvement in the
abduction and slaying of a well-known local journalist, Jacques Roche in
July 2005. Authorities have since expanded the investigation to include
alleged weapons violations.
   The priest, who was in Miami when Roche was kidnapped, has denied the
allegations.
   Mario Joseph, the lawyer for Jean-Juste, said he was told they were
taking Jean-Juste to confirm a leukemia diagnosis. The lawyer said he
doesn't believe there are any plans to immediately release him for medical
treatment outside of Haiti.
   "If he is sick they need to release him," Joseph said.
   Jean-Juste was in the laboratory for 30 minutes before he was escorted
out and driven away in a convoy that included U.N. peacekeepers and police.
He was then taken to another lab for more tests before he was returned to
his cell in an annex of the national penitentiary.
   Jean-Juste has emerged as a prominent figure in ousted President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas Family Party, which remains a potent
political force in Haiti.
   The priest's supporters have attempted to register him as a candidate in
upcoming elections, but authorities barred him from registering because he
was in prison.
   Haiti's interim president on Tuesday confirmed that the country's
repeatedly postponed elections will be on Feb. 7.
   Boniface Alexandre issued a decree urging people to vote on that date. A
runoff will be held on March 19 if needed.