Saturday, January 29-ATLANTA DEMONSTRATION IN SOLIDARTY WITH THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE

TOMORROW:ATLANTA DEMONSTRATION IN SOLIDARTY WITH THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE

ATLANTA DEMONSTRATION IN SOLIDARTY WITH THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE   Saturday, January 29, 2011 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm    In front of CNN Center, 190 Marietta Street, NW, Atlanta, GA       A demonstration will be held on Saturday in downtown Atlanta in support of the brave Egyptian people who are fighting for their freedom, dignity, and rights. Organizers hope to show the Egyptian people that American people are behind their struggle. In addition, the protest aims to expose the dire situation in Egypt, and to encourage the U.S. media to expand their coverage of growing movements for freedom and democracy in North Africa.   UPDATE ON EGYPTIAN PROTESTS   Over the last three days the Egyptian people have taken to the streets to show their displeasure with the government of President Hosni Mubarak. Demonstrators have staged peaceful protests, exercising their basic right to expression, to demand freedom from an oppressive dictatorial regime. These efforts have been met with violent resistance at the hands of the state security apparatus as the Mubarak government attempts to subdue protestors by force. Furthermore, in anticipation of a countrywide peaceful demonstration scheduled for Friday, January 28, at 1:00pm, after Friday prayers, the government has now imposed a full internet blockade extending to all parts of the country. There are now predictions that mobile phone networks and text messaging will also be blocked, such that no information can come out of the country, informing the outside world of the situation on the ground. These actions on the part of the government suggest an extremely concerning scenario in which all information is blocked, allowing security forces to quell protests by any means necessary, including use of extreme force.   Suez city is already under siege. The government has cut off the water supply and electricity. People, including children and elderly, are suffering there now. Hospital patients cannot get urgent medical care. Injured protestors are lying in the streets and the riot police are preventing people from helping them.  The families of the killed protestors cannot get the bodies of their sons to bury them.  The situation is much the same in north Saini (El-Sheikh zoyad city) and in western Egypt (Al-salom). The riot police are cracking down on protestors in Ismailia, Alexandria, Fayoum, Shbin Elkoum, and in Cairo, the capital. The government is preparing to crack down on the protestors in all Egyptian cities. They are using tear gas bombs, rubber and plastic bullets, chemicals like diluted mustard gas against protestors.  Several protestors have been killed when the armored vehicles of the riot police hit them. Officials in plainclothes are carrying blades and knives to intimidate protestors. All this has been taken place over the past three days in response to peaceful demonstrations in Cairo and other cities.   Egypt is the second largest foreign recipient of our taxpayer money, billions of dollars annually. This aid from the U.S. has been used to maintain the current dictatorship against the will of its own people. It is strongly in the interest of the United States to pressure the Mubarak government to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from any violence against its people and to allow the people of Egypt the freedom of expression that they deserve.   TRUE DEMOCRACY AND SELF-DETERMINATION FOR EGYPT PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! COME TO THE DEMONSTRATION TOMORROW AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

Human Rights Groups Call for Immediate Arrest of Jean-Claude Duvalier

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:
Mario Joseph, Av., Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (Port-au-Prince, Haiti), mario@ijdh.org, 509-3701-9879

Brian Concannon Jr., Esq., Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (Boston, MA), brian@ijdh.org, 541-263-0029

Ira Kurzban, Esq. IJDH Board Chair and attorney in Jean-Juste v. Duvalier, (Miami, FL) ira@kkwtlaw.com, 305-444-0060

Human Rights Groups Call for Immediate Arrest of Jean-Claude Duvalier

Jan­u­ary 17, 2011-Port-au-Prince and Boston- Today, the ­Institute for Jus­tice & Democ­racy in Haiti (IJDH) and the Bureau des Avo­cats Inter­na­tionaux (BAI) call on the Government of the Republic of Haiti to comply with Haitian law and arrest ex-President Jean-Claude Duvalier, who returned to Haiti on a commercial flight yesterday.

IJDH and the BAI note that the extensive legal documentation of Mr. Duvalier’s crimes includes:

·      A July 3, 2009 order from the First Court of Public Law, of the Federal Court of Switzerland, which notes that the Haitian government had informed it of current criminal proceedings against Mr. Duvalier as late as June 2008;

·      The Decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Jean-Juste v. Duvalier, No. 86-0459, dated January 8, 1988, finding Mr. Duvalier liable for over $500,000,000  for his misappropriation of public monies for his personal use; and

·      An extensive accounting of Mr. Duvalier’s misappropriation of public funds conducted for the Haitian government by a U.S. accounting firm between 1986 and 1990, establishing the theft of over $300,000,000 U.S.D. of public funds.

This legal documentation is supplemented by an extensive public record of Mr. Duvalier’s human rights violations, including the torture and disappearances of political dissidents at the Fort Dimanche prison and other crimes committed by organizations under his control, including the Armed Forces of Haiti and the Volunteers for National Security (Tontons Macoutes).

Mr. Duvalier is not protected against prosecution by any statutes of limitations. According to Article 466 of the Haitian Code of Criminal Procedure,  the proceedings for misappropriation of funds are not proscribed because of the continuing prosecution of the case from 1986 to 2008. The political killings and torture are not proscribed because they are crimes against humanity, which are imprescriptible under international law.

The BAI and IJDH believe that if there are not any arrest warrants outstanding against Mr. Duvalier, that the information available in existing legal proceedings and Mr. Duvalier’s 25-year flight from Haitian justice clearly justify the immediate issuance and execution of an arrest warrant. The BAI and IJDH offer their assistance, including their extensive documentation of Mr. Duvalier’s crimes, to Haitian authorities conducting a serious investigation.

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French

POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE

CONTACTS: 
Mario Joseph, Av., Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (Port-au-Prince, Haïti), mario@ijdh.org, +509-3701-9879 
Brian Concannon Jr., Esq., Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haïti (Boston, MA), brian@ijdh.org, 541-263-0029 
Kurzban Iran, Esq.  Président du conseil de l’IJDH et avocat dans le dossier de Jean-Juste c. Duvalier, (Miami, FL) ira@kkwtlaw.com, 305-444-0060 

Organisations des Droits de l'homme lancent un appel pour l'arrestation immédiate de Jean-Claude Duvalier

Le 17 Janvier 2011-Port-au-Prince et Boston Aujourd'hui,

 l'Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) et le Bureau des Avocats Inter nationaux (BAI) demandent  au gouvernement de la République d'Haïti de se conformer à la loi haïtienne en procédant immédiatement à l’arrestation de l’ex-président Jean-Claude Duvalier, qui est  rentré en Haïti le 16 Janvier 2011 par un vol commercial d’air France.

BAI et IJDH reconnaissent le droit constitutionnel de tous les Haïtiens de retourner au pays, mais ils prennent acte de la documentation juridique étendue de la criminalité de M. Duvalier, y compris:

·       Un arrêt de 3 Juillet 2009 de la Première Cour de droit public de la Cour fédérale de la Suisse, qui note que le gouvernement haïtien l’avait informé d’une procédure pénale en cours contre M. Duvalier depuis Juin 2008;

·      Un arrêt du tribunal fédéral du district sud de Floride dans le dossier de Jean-Juste c. Duvalier, n ° 86-0459, en date du 8 Janvier 1988, qui a prononcé une condamnation civile contre M. Duvalier pour plus de $ 500 000 000 (U.S.) pour son détournement de fonds publics à des fins personnels, et

·      Un compte rendu comptable de détournements M. Duvalier de fonds publics mené pour le gouvernement haïtien par un cabinet de comptables des États-Unis entre 1986 et 1990, établissant le vol de plus de $ 300 000 000 U.S. de fonds publics.

Cette documentation juridique est complétée par un volumineux dossier public des violations des droits humains de M. Duvalier, y compris les tortures et les disparitions d'opposants politiques de  la prison de Fort-Dimanche, et les crimes commis par les milices sous le contrôle de M. Duvalier, y compris les Forces Armées d’Haiti et les Volontaires pour la Sécurité Nationale (Tonton Macoutes).

Les crimes de M. Duvalier ne sont pas prescrits. D’après l’article 466, du Code d’Instruction Criminelle de la République d’Haïti, les poursuites pour détournement de fonds ne sont pas prescrites à cause des actes d’instruction et de poursuite qui ont été enclenchés de 1986 à 2008. Les assassinats et tortures politiques ne sont pas prescrits, car ils sont des crimes contre l’humanité, qui sont imprescriptibles selon le droit international. 

Le BAI et IJDH croient que s’ il n'y a pas de mandats d'arrêt contre M. Duvalier, que les informations disponibles dans les procédures judiciaires existantes et la fuite de M. Duvalier depuis 25 ans de la justice haïtienne justifient clairement la délivrance immédiate et l'exécution d'un mandat d'arrêt. Le BAI et IJDH offrent leur assistance légale et juridique, y compris leur documentation extensive de crimes de M. Duvalier, aux autorités haïtiennes si elles veulent le poursuivre réellement.

BAI et IJDH rappellent à tout le monde que les crimes commis sous le règne de la dictature des DUVALIERS sont imprescriptibles, parce que ce sont des crimes contre l’humanité. Par conséquent, ils encouragent toutes les victimes des DUVALIERS à porter plainte. Les avocats du BAI et IJDH sont disponibles pour les assister aider et les accompagner par devant les Tribunaux et Cours tant nationaux qu’internationaux.

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