communicated with his family by telephone and sent them some of the money he earned as
an unskilled worker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by electronic transfer. Mr. Fleury's family
arrived in the United States in May 2009.
D. Complaints with regard to the facts
44.
On June 25, 2002, Guerdine Jean-Juste, the Episcopal Commission’s lawyer,
presented a brief to the Deputy Government Commissioner requesting he order the release
of Mr. Fleury because he had been arrested without a warrant, contrary to his constitutional
rights.
45.
On June 27, 2002, Father Jan Hanssens filed a complaint with the HNP Inspector
General requesting that an investigation be opened against the agents involved in the acts
of torture against Mr. Fleury. Father Hanssens received no response to this complaint.
46.
On August 1, 2002, Mr. Fleury filed a brief with the Government Commissioner of
Port-au-Prince, reporting the events of June 24 and 25, 2002, and asking the Public
Prosecution Service to institute criminal proceedings against the police agents of the Bon
Repos Police Station.32
47.
On February 22, 2003, Mr. Fleury met with Inspector John Prévost from the HNP
General Inspectorate. At that time, he was invited to go to a room where the three
policemen who allegedly arrested, detained, and assaulted him appeared one by one.33 Mr.
Fleury identified the alleged attackers in the presence of Inspector Prévost. Despite the
identification, not one of these three agents was charged. In a letter to the Commission, Mr.
Fleury stated that one of his torturers remained assigned to the Bon Repos Police Station
and that Inspector Prévost had informed him that no punishment would be imposed on the
other two policemen.
48.
On October 1, 2007, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited Mr. Fleury to
a meeting to discuss his case. At that meeting, the Ministry’s representative informed him
that an investigation would be opened into the abuses perpetrated against him by members
of the Police and that he should not to leave his home after 6 p.m., since the Ministry could
not be responsible for his safety.
49.
To date, no information has been received that any investigation has been opened,
or that any disciplinary sanctions have been imposed in relation to the complaint filed on
June 27, 2002, before the Head of the HNP General Inspectorate. The police agents in
question and the civilians who took part in the facts remain HNP officials. In addition, no
criminal investigation was opened concerning the complaint filed with the Government
Commissioner, and no one has been accused of the facts and prosecuted. More specifically,
neither Mr. Fleury nor the suspects he identified have been summoned to appear before a
court, and a judge has not been assigned to the case, as required by Haitian law.34
32
Cf. Complaint filed by Mr. Fleury before the Commissaire du Gouvernment Près le Parquet du Tribunal Civil
[Government Commissioner attached to the Public Prosecutor’s Department of the Civil Court] (file of attachments
to the application, tome I, attachment 4, folio 437).
33
Cf. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Hearing No. 10. Mr. Fleury stated that Thimoté
Désgranges is a police agent; “Tiblanc” is a civilian agent connected to the Police; and the other three individuals
implicated are: Tefneau Joseph, Edris Erick and “Gentil.” Fleury has referred to the five of them as police agents
and “para policiers” [individuals working with the police] (file of attachments to the application, tome I, attachment
2, folios 420 and 421).
34
Cf. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,, Hearing No. 10. (file of attachments to the application,
tome I, attachment 2, folios 421 and 422). See also articles 50 and 51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Haiti,
14