(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Jacques Edouard Alexis, prime minister and minister of the interior, RSF has expressed its “deep concern” further to the assassination of Jean Léopold Dominique, director of the private pro-governmental radio station Radio Haïti Inter. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked the Haitian prime minister to “use [his] influence to ensure […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Jacques Edouard Alexis, prime minister and minister of the interior, RSF has expressed its “deep concern” further to the assassination of Jean Léopold Dominique, director of the private pro-governmental radio station Radio Haïti Inter. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked the Haitian prime minister to “use [his] influence to ensure that an inquiry is launched and those responsible for the attack against [the journalist] are identified and punished.” The organisation also asked the head of government to “take all measures necessary to guarantee the safety of journalists”.
On the morning of 3 April 2000, Dominique was killed after parking his car in the Radio Haïti Inter lot, just as he was entering the building in which the radio station’s offices are located, in the Delmas neighbourhood (north-east of Port-au-Prince). A female journalist with the station affirmed that she heard several gunshots. Seriously injured, Dominique was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries. One of the radio station’s guards was also killed during the attack. According to his colleagues, Dominique had not received any threats. The journalist was known to be close to President René Préval. He was the most famous political commentator in Haiti, known for his commitment to democracy and attacks on dictatorships. The director of Radio Haïti Inter often criticised politicians and businessmen in his radio programme “Inter Actualités”.