News Information

• NEWS_POSTED_BY: Haiti Place
• NEWS_POSTED_ON: Apr 23, 2015
• Views : 686
• Category : Haiti News
• Description : Landing | Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:30pm EDT
  
  PORT-AU-PRINCE | BY PETER GRANITZ
• Location : Haiti
• Website : http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/20/us-haiti-martelly-idUSKBN0NB2CZ20150420

Overview

• (Reuters) - The Obama administration said it was "concerned" about the speed of a court ruling in Haiti that saw charges suddenly dropped in the indictment of an accused kidnapper with close ties to the family of President Michel Martelly.
  
  On Friday, the judge freed Woodly Ethéart and Renel Nelfort, two leaders of the so-called Galil Gang, who had been indicted a month earlier for masterminding a host of violent crimes, including murder, money laundering and more than a dozen kidnappings.
  
  Two days later, the Minister of Justice sacked the prosecutor, saying his deputies asked the judge to free the men, arguing they could not win a conviction.
  
  "We are concerned about the ruling, including the speed in which it was made," a State Department spokesman said in an email on Monday in response to a request for comment.
  
  "This is an ongoing case in the Haitian courts, and we understand the ruling could be appealed.
  
  Ethéart, who is a friend of Martelly's brother-in-law, Charles Saint-Rémy, is known by the street name 'Sonson Lafamilia,' and is the former owner of one of Haiti's fanciest restaurants, La Souvenance.
  
  Read more here >>