(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 14 March 2001 IAPA press release: IAPA Investigation of Haitian Journalist’s Murder Released on the Internet Miami (March 14, 2001) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today released a report on its investigation into the murder of Haiti’s prominent radio journalist, Jean Leopold Dominique. Dominique, who was slain […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 14 March 2001 IAPA press release:
IAPA Investigation of Haitian Journalist’s Murder Released on the Internet
Miami (March 14, 2001) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today released a report on its investigation into the murder of Haiti’s prominent radio journalist, Jean Leopold Dominique. Dominique, who was slain on April 3, 2000, was the victim of an apparent internecine conflict involving different groups of the Lavalas political party lead by newly elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide.
Dominique, 69, owned Radio Haiti, a progressive radio station in Port-au-Prince. To this day, he remains the most senior member of the Lavalas party who has been assassinated. He thought his party credentials would be enough to protect him from the forces that ultimately had him killed. The IAPA believes that the Dominique case is emblematic of a Haiti in which groups tied to the ruling Lavalas party have recently threatened journalists and challenged the opposition.
The IAPA report highlights a number of irregularities in the official investigation, threats directed at judges and witnesses, as well as the impunity that persists surrounding the crime.
IAPA President Danilo Arbilla, editor of the weekly Búsqueda, from Montevideo, Uruguay, stated that the press group will continue to keep close tabs on this case, as well as on the general level of press freedom in Haiti. He said the matter will be discussed at the IAPA mid-year meeting, which is scheduled to take place on March 17, in Fortaleza, Brazil.
For more information regarding this case, please visit the special IAPA web page devoted to unpunished crimes against journalists, http://www.impunidad.com
