In news from Haiti, one of the country’s best known political prisoners–the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste has been temporarily released from jail in order to be treated for leukemia and pneumonia. Jean-Juste was first taken to a hospital in Port-Au-Prince where he briefly spoke with reporters. He was then flown to Miami where he will be treated. The interim Haitian government has been widely criticized for jailing the 59-year-old priest. Hundreds of religious, political and human rights leaders and 50 members of the U.S. Congress had called on the Haitian government to release him. Amnesty International had labeled Jean-Juste a “prisoner of conscience.” While Jean-Juste has been temporarily freed, hundreds of other supporters of the ousted President Jean Bertrand Aristide–including the well-known singer So Ann–remain in jail.
Haitian Priest Gerard Jean-Juste Released From Prison
HeadlineJan 30, 2006