Hundreds of people spontaneously took to the streets in Port-au-Prince on Thursday to demand the release of three police officers who were arrested, along with some 20 people accused of staging an alleged coup d’état against Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moise.
The demonstration was peaceful and there were no clashes with the police, as in previous days, but along the route, in the Delmas sector, there were burning tires on the road, as well as stones and tree branches arranged in a whimsical way to avoid the passage of vehicles.
The assistants demanded ‘release, release, release’ for the detainees, including police officers Hérard Carl Steeven, magistrate security officer of the Court of Cassation Yvickel Dabrésil, as well as Jean and Dachelien Robenson, both agents of the Penitentiary Administration Directorate.
These police officers are part of the group of about 20 people who were detained last weekend and accused of preparing a coup in Haiti.
During the march, Chantal Philipe says she is the mother of an inmate named Fleurant. “My son is going to work. Everyone knows that he works for a judge, that he does his job” and that is why he was imprisoned along with the magistrates.
‘I demand my son’s release. I can’t take it anymore, ”she said visibly upset to Efe.
Some carry photos of some inmates in front of the cameras, including a woman who says her name is Blondie standing on a motorcycle in front of every target she sees asking for the release of ‘a good man’ whom she loves as if he was her father.
A human rights defender who identifies himself as Roosevelt is also calling for the release of the three detained police officers, as well as United Nations help to intervene because “we cannot continue to live in that condition”.
Following this march, Haitian authorities on Thursday released magistrate of the Supreme Court Yvickel Dabrésil, the country’s highest court, and the main accused of organizing the alleged coup.
However, the rest of the detainees remain under preventive arrest in the Croix-des-Bouquets prison on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
Dabrésil’s release came about 24 hours after the civil court of Croix-des-Bouquets issued the order for his release.
Among the 20 arrested last weekend are three cousins of Judge Dabrésil, alongside Inspector General of the Police, Marie Louise Gauthier.