PROMINENT JOURNALIST'S ASSASSINS BROUGHT TO

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 001484 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KCOR SUBJECT: PROMINENT JOURNALIST'S ASSASSINS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE REF: PORT AU PRINCE 1451 ¶1. This message is sensitive but unclassified please protect accordingly. ¶2. (U) According to media reports, two young men, Alby Joseph, 22 and Chery Beaubrun, 16 were sentenced to life in prison for the July 2005 murder of well-known poet and journalist, Jacques Roche in Port-au-Prince. The sentencing was pronounced on August 30, twenty days after an independent commission was formed to support the investigation of assassinated journalists (CIAPEAJ). The commission was jointly created at the initiative of President Preval and journalist organization SOS, and is supported by UN Secretary General spokesperson Michele Montas. (Note: Montas' husband, journalist and activist Jean Dominique's 2000 murder remains unsolved. End note). ¶3. (U) Joseph and Beaubrun admitted to having tortured and killed Roche after they received a USD $10,000 ransom from his family. The ransom was suspiciously delivered by the popular singer Antonio Cheramy (aka Don Kato),who is known to have links to ''Base Cameroun,'' a violent grassroots gang based in the Delmas neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. (Note: Don Kato was active in President Preval's electoral campaign and is purported to be the president's favorite singer. End note). Three other criminals already in custody for violent crime and possession of weapons were also implicated in Roche's assassination after Alby Joseph identified them as co-conspirators from behind bars. Lavalas priest and ''spiritual advisor'' to former president Aristide, Father Gerard Jean-Juste was apprehended in July 2005 as a suspect in the Roche murder, but was released in January 2006 for medical reasons (reftel). ¶4. (SBU) Comment: The arrest and sentencing of two assassins for the murder of Jacques Roche is a positive development in the two-year old investigation. It is evident, however, that the investigation will continue for some time, as those already implicated drop the dime on their co-conspirators. Public pressure in the face of foot-dragging by the Ministry of Justice led to the formation of the independent commission CIAPEJ. This case is yet another reflection of the poor state of Haiti's criminal justice system, and again highlights the dire need for judicial reform. SANDERSON