Victims rejoice at Haitian judges' decision to allow charges of human rights violations against former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.

AutorRodriguez, George

Rejoicing victims of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Bebe Doc" Duvalier (1971-1986) enthusiastically welcomed the decision announced by a three-judge panel on Feb. 20 that the Caribbean island nation's former ruler could be charged with crimes against humanity.

The Appellate Court's magistrates thus reversed a judge's 2012 ruling that Duvalier could not be charged with such crimes--including disappearance and torture--perpetrated during his 15-year rule by police, military, and paramilitary forces because a statute of limitations prevented victims from filing allegations.

A statute of limitations is a legal instrument setting a deadline for a lawsuit or legal claim to be filed. These instruments vary depending, among other elements, on the circumstances surrounding each case. While dismissing the human rights charges in the 2012 ruling, the judge upheld accusations of financial crimes also lodged against Duvalier (NotiCen, Jan. 16, 2014).

The three-judge panel stated that the victims' accusations were valid and that, under international law, a statute of limitations does not apply in cases of crimes against humanity.

"Right has triumphed"

In Haitian human rights lawyer Pierre Esperance's view, the Appellate Court's decision is "monumental" and with it "right has triumphed."

One victim present in the courtroom, a 75-year-old woman who, as part of the opposition student movement, was jailed in 1980, told reporters that the Appellate Court's ruling encourages victims "to continue the resistance we started."

And in victims' attorney Mario Joseph's opinion, since "everyone knows what happened" during Duvalier's 15-year dictatorship, the court's ruling "is a good decision."

Duvalier's legal team objects

In the Duvalier camp, lawyer Reynold Georges, the former dictator's defense counsel, reacted immediately by alleging that the court had no jurisdiction in this case since "there's a statute of limitations," international law does not apply, and "you can't condemn someone using a law that doesn't exist."

Fritzo Canton, another defense attorney, went further and, after announcing an appeal, said the three-judge panel acted under the influence of what he termed extreme leftist human rights organizations.

Two months later, after Duvalier's defense appealed the three judges' decision, Georges stated that "no court, no judge has the legal authority to prosecute or try President Duvalier for crimes against humanity for the evident reason that there...

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