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Haiti Justice Minister Ignores Senate Summons on Philippe Case

by VOA News

   Haiti's justice minister faces possible censure after failing to appear
   Thursday before a Senate committee to explain how the United States was
   able to take custody of rebel leader Guy Philippe and transport him to
   Florida on drug-related charges.

   Camille Junior Edouard, minister of justice and public security, had
   been summoned by Haitian lawmakers in the capital, Port-au-Prince. He
   also ignored two earlier requests.

   "The minister disrespected the Senate because he is reaching the end of
   his mandate," Jean Renel Senatus, chairman of the Justice and Public
   Security Commission, told reporters at the parliament building.

   Edouard's term as minister began last spring and officially concludes
   February 7, when President-elect Jovenel Moise takes office with a new
   administration.

   Edouard could face censure or a vote of no confidence for not
   cooperating. Senators will debate that late this month.

   FILE - Haitian National Revolutionary Liberation Front
   Commander-in-Chief, Guy Philippe, hugs other soldiers, Feb. 22, 2004.

   A censure vote might not make much difference initially, because his
   term ends soon, but it could have more lasting consequences. The
   lawyer, who has served as an adviser to at least one parliamentarian,
   is considered likely to seek office in the future.

   "It is like he asks [senators] to give him bad marks" that could impede
   a longer political career, Senatus said.

   Lawmakers want details about the Haitian government's role in the case
   of Philippe, captured January 5 at a suburban radio station and handed
   over to U.S. drug enforcement agents who'd sought him since 2005.
   Philippe recently was elected to Haiti's Senate, but had not been sworn
   in.

   Philippe's seizure triggered protests in Haiti and Miami, where the
   suspect has been detained. Some have questioned what they see as the
   unlawful extradition of a senator-elect, insisting the senate position
   grants Philippe immunity from prosecution. Still others want Philippe
   to face charges in Haiti.

   District Attorney Danton Leger has told Haitian media he did not
   anticipate Philippe's removal and had hoped to first try the suspect
   himself. He had issued an arrest warrant for Philippe, suspected in an
   attack last May on a police station in the southern city of Les Cayes.

   Philippe, a former police commissioner in the northern city of
   Cap-Haitien and in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Delmas, also played a
   key role in the violent 2004 uprising that toppled then-President
   Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

   In a Miami federal courtroom last Friday, Philippe pleaded not guilty
   to charges involving money laundering and smuggling cocaine into the
   United States. Prosecutors were given 15 days to present evidence
   supporting the charges.