Haitian calls murder charges 'political justice'

[struggle4progress]

By JOSEPH GUYLER DELVA
Monday, June 28, 2004 - Page A14

Port-au-Prince -- Former Haitian prime minister Yvon Neptune, who served under ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, surrendered to police to face mass-murder charges yesterday, but said the case against him is politically motivated.

Mr. Neptune gave himself up after a judge in Saint Marc, 100 kilometres north of Port-au-Prince, issued an arrest warrant for him as part of an inquiry into what Mr. Aristide's opponents have called a massacre on Feb. 11 in the village of La Syrie.

After surrendering to police, Mr. Neptune was taken to the National Penitentiary in the capital. He had gone into hiding soon after Mr. Aristide was forced into exile on Feb. 29 by a month-long armed revolt and U.S. and French pressure to quit.
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... little effort has been made to go after human-rights abusers from past military regimes who joined the revolt, prompting rights groups to call for a more even-handed approach.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040628/WORLD28-2/TPInternational/Briefs