27349: Hermantin(News)Activists step up support for jailed Haitian priest Jean-Juste (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

lhermantin@hotmail.com


Sun Sentinel


Activists step up support for jailed Haitian priest Jean-Juste




By Madeline Baró Diaz
Miami Bureau

January 25, 2006



MIAMI · One day after receiving a letter from the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste in 
which the jailed Haitian activist seemed resigned to his death, his supporters 
in Miami vowed to step up efforts on his behalf.

Jean-Juste, a vocal supporter of deposed Haitian president Jean-Bertrand 
Aristide, has been in a Haitian jail since July. Officials there accused him of 
being involved in the kidnapping and murder of a journalist. According to his 
attorneys, murder charges against him have since been dropped and he currently 
faces charges of "association with malefactors."

Supporters of Jean-Juste say the criminal charges against him are politically 
motivated. They said they are especially concerned because doctors have 
diagnosed the priest with leukemia, but he is not receiving medical treatment.

"The only thing that's keeping Father Jean-Juste is vindictiveness on the part 
of the Haitian authorities," said Jack Lieberman, chairman of the Committee to 
Free Father Jean-Juste. "If he gets an infection it can be a death sentence."

Jean-Juste, 59, wrote of his failing health in a letter he sent to supporters 
through an attorney.

"My health is quitting me," the letter said. "Death may come soon if I do not 
receive treatment ... Unfortunately, some people think I am faking. They wish 
my death."

Activists will hold a vigil on Saturday at downtown Miami's Torch of Friendship 
and will begin acts of civil disobedience if Jean-Juste is not released by the 
weekend, said Carolyn Thompson, co-chairwoman of the group.

At a Tuesday news conference held at the headquarters of the organization Veye 
Yo, supporters urged those who want Jean-Juste freed to contact Haitian 
government officials. They also appealed to the United States, which backs the 
current government in Haiti, to exert pressure.

Edgard Bruneau, spokesman for the Haitian Prime Minister's office, said 
Jean-Juste's case is in the hands of the country's Justice Ministry.

"The government will respect whatever decision is taken by Justice," Bruneau 
said.

Jean-Juste, who has been touted as a potential candidate for Haiti's 
presidency, became known in South Florida in the 1970s and 1980s for his 
advocacy on behalf of Haitian refugees. In 1991, he returned to Haiti where he 
became the priest for a church in a poor Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

Madeline Baró Diaz can be reached at mbaro@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5007.


Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel