BELIZAIRE CONSIDERED A MARTYR, ACCORDING TO PRESIDENT OF BAR ASSOCIATION
(Defend Haiti) - By Jonel Juste
PORT-AU-PRINCE - "Deputy Bélizaire's arrest was conducted outside the rule of law," according to Haitian lawyer Carlos Hercules, President of the Port-au-Prince Bar Association. "The Parliamentarian is now considered a martyr," he adds.
Deputy Arnel Bélizaire (Delmas & Tabarre/Veye-Yo) "was arrested by the police on the order of Attorney General Félix Léger," explains Mr. Hercule. "However, this decision was taken outside the law. Precisely, ARTICLE 115 states that 'to arrest a Parliamentarian, one must take away his immunity, unless he’s caught flagrantly,'" added the President of Port-au-Prince Bar Association speaking on Radio Metropole on Monday.
Furthermore, Mr. Hercules fears that after his spectacular arrest, Bélizaire is now considered "a martyr" because "his capture is viewed by many as a lawbreaking itself."
"We should not have sheriffs who create fear because the Haitians don’t accept that anymore", says Carlos Hercules.
Reacting to the MP Belizaire issue, some also argue that there's a way to arrest an official. "Who could handcuff Martelly this way if he did something wrong now?" asks a Port-au-Princian, adding that the arrest was more like revenge from Martelly than a judicial prosecution.
For others, however, this is the return of the rule of law. "It is not because of immunity that one can do everything."
"This man was imprisoned four times. How was he issued a character reference and become an MP?" inquired another one.
No comments:
Post a Comment