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Haiti: Will Duvalier escape justice?
“People are making noise for their own political reasons,” the 47-year-old University of Haiti graduate said, declining to elaborate. “There was no political decision. It was my decision. I’m an independent judge.”
He said no new evidence was collected after June 2011 because none was submitted.
However, Haitian attorney Mario Joseph, of the International Bureau of Lawyers, said the judge disregarded the testimony of eight victims who wanted to file claims alleging torture and false imprisonment.
Martelly’s deputy chief of staff, Salim Succar, wrote in an email that the Martelly administration has “NEVER” contacted or tried to contact the judge, or influenced or attempted to influence the judge’s decision.
Succar also wrote that the Justice Ministry has appealed the judge’s decision. And he said the government has asked the World Bank and U.S. government for technical assistance to develop an “outreach program” for judges who handle human rights cases.
Over the past year, however, Martelly has given mixed signals. He’s said he’d welcome Duvalier as an adviser. He also said he was open to pardoning the former dictator, only to backtrack.
Defense attorney Reynold Georges called the allegations of interference a “lie,” and said critics made such claims to influence the government.
Georges also argues that a 10-year statute of limitations on the alleged crimes has expired, the exact reasoning the judge used in his decision.
