(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Secretary of State for Public Security Jean Gérard Dubreuil, RSF protested the assault on Radio Métropole journalist Francine Léonard by a supporter of the ruling Fanmi Lavalas party. “Since 1 January 2001, a dozen journalists have been threatened or assaulted by the police or Fanmi Lavalas supporters,” recalled RSF […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Secretary of State for Public Security Jean Gérard Dubreuil, RSF protested the assault on Radio Métropole journalist Francine Léonard by a supporter of the ruling Fanmi Lavalas party. “Since 1 January 2001, a dozen journalists have been threatened or assaulted by the police or Fanmi Lavalas supporters,” recalled RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “Such actions appear to be encouraged by a feeling of impunity,” he added. RSF asked that the person who attacked Léonard be given an exemplary punishment.
According to information collected by RSF, on 17 November, Fanmi Lavalas supporter Romain Hillaire struck Léonard, a Radio Métropole correspondent in Les Cayes (in the country’s south), while she was on assignment. Hillaire also destroyed the journalist’s recording equipment, before being stopped by passers-by. Police officers who were present at the scene did not intervene. Hillaire was briefly detained after the journalist filed a complaint. Hillaire previously threatened and assaulted the journalist in February 1999. According to Léonard, she is allegedly being targeted for presenting the ruling party in an unflattering light in her coverage. The journalist told RSF that she is the target of frequent attacks and threats.
