Gérard Jean-Juste

Gérard Jean-Juste

Gérard Jean-Juste ( February 7, 1949 - May 27, 2009 ) was a Haitian Roman Catholic priest and liberation theologian . In Haiti he was also called Pè Jery ( Haitian : Father Jery).

Life

Jean-Juste was the parish priest of Sainte-Claire de Petite Place Cazeau in the north of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince . In 1978 he founded the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami , which made him a well-known social activist in the Haitian exiled community in Florida.

On July 21, 2005, the Haitian police arrested Jean-Juste immediately after attending the funeral of the murdered journalist Jacques Roche . He was accused of murdering Roche, possessing illegal weapons and participating in a criminal conspiracy. Jean-Juste was in Miami at the time of Roche's murder. The human rights organization Amnesty International called him a political prisoner. Jean-Juste was an active member of the Fanmi Lavalas party of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted in 2004, and was discussed as Lavalas' top candidate for the 2006 elections before his arrest . The Catholic Church suspended Jean-Juste from the priesthood because of his political activities.

In late 2005, an American doctor diagnosed Jean-Juste with leukemia . In 2006 he was released for a limited period and was able to travel to the USA to seek medical treatment. The allegation of murder had recently been dropped by a Haitian court. In 2007 a hearing was held before the Court of Appeal in Port-au-Prince regarding the allegations still pending against Jean-Juste. When confronted with the allegation of gun possession, Jean-Juste replied to the court: “My Bible and my rosary are my weapons.” In 2008 the appellate court also dropped the remaining allegations of gun possession and criminal conspiracy.

In 2009, Jean-Juste died of his illness in Florida. The funeral took place in the cathedral of Port-au-Prince with the participation of thousands of people .

honors and awards

• Honorary Doctorate from the University of San Francisco in 2006
• Spirit of Freedom Award 2007

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Amnesty International Declares Father Jean-Juste a “Prisoner of Conscience” . Feature from Democracy Now , July 28, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
2. ^ ^{A b} Doctor: Jailed Haitian Priest Has Cancer . News from Democracy Now , December 30, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Wadner Pierre, Joe Emersberger: Charges Finally Dropped Against Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Haitianalysis.com website , June 19, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2011.  
4. ↑ Crowds Cheer Persecuted Priest Gerald Jean-Juste ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Haitianalysis.com website , November 30, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2011.  
5. ↑ Randall White: Haiti bids “A Dieu” to Father Jeri and promises “The Struggle continues” . Website haitiaction.net . Retrieved April 11, 2011.
6. ↑ September 11, 2006: Dr. Paul Farmer and Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste. ( Memento of September 1, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Archived from the USF website.
7. ↑ Father Gérard Jean-Juste receives an award for his struggle for the rights of refugees on the occasion of Martin Luther King Day  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  Website of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. Retrieved April 11, 2011.