HAITI: FATHER JEAN-JUSTE, THE PM, AND THE FOMIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 000113 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL HA SUBJECT: HAITI: FATHER JEAN-JUSTE, THE PM, AND THE FOMIN REF: PAP 0110 Classified By: CDA TIMOTHY M. CARNEY, REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) On 14 January Charge stressed to Prime Minister Gerard Latortue the need to transfer Father Gerard Jean-Juste from Haiti for medical treatment in the U.S. for what is clearly a genuine and serious illness (reftel). In Charge's presence, the PM then called Justice Minister Henri Dorleans for a legal update on the case and to make the point that the interim government would look better in the eyes of the international community if the government allowed Father Jean-Juste to seek treatment abroad. Dorleans accepted the urgency of the matter, according to the PM, but said that such a decision would be unprecedented in Haitian jurisprudence. Dorleans asserted that it is likely that Jean-Juste's case would be decided this week and that the government could then grant him amnesty and he could leave the country to seek treatment (COMMENT: The Haitian judicial system is not likely to operate with such alacrity. END COMMENT). Charge wondered if the IGOH needed to make the point to the investigating judge that Father Jean-Juste could go abroad for treatment, expecting him to return at the end of it. Latortue relayed the notion to the Justice Minister who said he would update the PM when they meet at the High Counsel of National Police (CSPN) meeting on 17 January. ¶2. (C) On 17 January, upon departing discussions with Foreign Minister Herard Abraham on "Baby Doc" Duvalier's passport issuance (septel),Charge took the occasion to enlist Abraham's assistance in persuading his fellow cabinet members to push for Jean-Juste's release for treatment. Abraham expressed a completely personal view that the interim government should allow Father Jean-Juste to seek treatment rather than risk a deterioration of his health and eventual death in prison in Haiti, thereby conferring a martyr-like status upon him and creating more problems for the interim government. Abraham said that he thought it would be better for the interim government to permit Jean-Juste to go to the U.S., under the condition that he be made to return to Haiti to participate in any judicial proceedings once completing his treatment. Abraham reasoned that if Jean-Juste caused any problems while in the U.S. for treatment, then he would be a problem for the U.S. authorities and not for the interim government. TCARNEY