Threats Against Evel FANFAN

Haiti: Attempted Assassination and Death Threats Against Evel FANFAN

by Jeb Sprague

As human rights defenders at BAI undergo an escalating series of death threats, intimidation, and spurious arrest warrants [see: http://www.cja.org/article.php?id=1181 ], another human rights attorney, Evel Fanfan (of AUMOHD), has been the target of an attempted assassination. I enclose a message from him below.

Tuesday evening, around 8: 30pm, I returned from a planning meeting with a group of worker victims when two vehicles (a gray 4 wheeler with BB-37863 on the registration plate and a black mini bus) came from opposite directions and parked, blocking access to my vehicle. I waited for 4 to 5 minutes from a little distance so that they could end their long conversation.

After about 5 minutes waiting without success, I blew my horn a little, to attract the attention of two (2) drivers who had not moved an inch. So, I called the CRO, the police Central Intelligence Office of the West at 3-838-1111, a number that the former Director of the Haitian National Police, Mr Mario ANDRESOL gave me in case of difficulty. I talked and explained the situation to the officer in charge who asked me to give a description of the two vehicles in question.

As I was finishing up the conversation with the officer of the CRO, the driver of the bus had moved his vehicle a little. Then, the 4wheeler driver moved and opened the door of his vehicle to block any full access to my car. I moved back a little with my vehicle and asked him what was going on. In response, he took out his weapon and fired two shots in my direction at the height of my vehicle. Since there were a few curious people who gathered not far from the place of the event, he told me quite forcefully: "if it were not for the presence of these people, I would take you into my car to murder you there?

With these words, I again called the CRO who asked me to go to the nearest police station, so, I went to the Delmas 33 police station and wrote a complaint against this armed man who tried to murder me and promised to do so at the appropriate time.

I just want to inform you and ask you to do your best at this time when I'm trying to put pressure on the Haitian State for the minimum wage, for the massacre of Grand Ravin and other cases. They very well could try to kill me.

Mr. Evel FANFAN
Executif Director of AUMOHD

For more on AUMOHD see: http://aumohddwamoun.blogspot.com/ and http://hurah.org/projects/