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Human rights organizations have condemned the move by a Haitian judge to only charge ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier on counts of corruption, according to media reports.
“The Haitian people deserve their day in court to prove Duvalier’s culpability, which is an essential part of any meaningful reconciliation process,” William O’Neill, director of the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum, told The Associated Press.
Anthonal Mortime, the executive secretary of the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations, told the Haiti Libre publication that the “decision is simply a scandal,” adding that the move is “a slap given to the Haitian justice and victims.”
Duvalier’s lawyer, Reynold Georges, said that all charges—not just corruption accusations—should be dropped against him, according to AP. “We’re going to appeal that decision … and throw it in the garbage can,” he said.
Duvalier, nicknamed “Baby Doc,” was president of Haiti from 1971 until 1986, succeeding his father, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Baby Doc has been accused of human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary imprisonment.
“Those who were tortured under Duvalier, those whose loved ones were killed or simply disappeared, deserve better than this,” Reed Brody, a spokesperson for Human Rights Watch, told the Libre publication.
