Student killed by Haitian Police

The family of a student killed by the police in the Pouplard neighborhood deny that their boy was killed during an armed confrontation

Port-au-Prince, January 24, 2005 (AHP)- The family of the young Ederson Joseph who was shot dead on January 17 by police officers dressed in camouflage in the neighborhood of Avenue Pouplard rejected the statements by PNH spokesperson PNH Jessy Cameau Coicou claiming that their boy was a bandit who was killed during clashes with the police.

According to the grandmother of the young boy, Ederson Joseph was in his 6th year of primary school when he was killed.

Régine Poteau, who insisted there was no confrontation in the area when her grandson was killed, is seeking justice and reparations from the interim authorities.

For his part, the attorney for the Ederson Joseph, Mr. Mario Joseph, denounced the silence of the countries friendly to Haiti and of certain human rights organizations regarding the cases of summary execution committed by the police in the populist districts.

The police can not engage in such serious actions merely on the basis of wild accusations, said Mario Joseph, who is also the lawyer for the activist Lavalas Jimmy Charles and journalist Abdias Jean, both of whom were summarily execute don January 13. Jimmy Charles was murdered in La Saline and Abdias Jean was killed in Cité de Dieu.

"There is a perfect agreement between the police and the judiciary to commit abuses against the residents of the populist districts", declared Mario Joseph. The lawyer announced that he will file a complaint with the public prosecutor against the authors of these acts.

AHP January 24, 2005 1:15 PM