Judge Allison Burroughs denied Viliena’s dismissal request, citing ” the weakness, politicization and corruption of the Haitian judicial system and the risk of retaliation for plaintiffs if they bring lawsuits in Haiti.
Monday, March 13, 2023 ((rezonodwes.com)) — Former Les Irois Mayor Jean Morose Viliena, accused of terrorizing his political opponents, will go on trial Monday in federal court in Boston in a case that highlights the violent nature of Haitian politics and lack of accountability.
The lawsuit against Jean Morose Viliena, who now lives in suburban Boston, includes charges of murder, torture and arson in the town of Les Irois, about 140 miles west, among other charges. of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by the San Francisco Center for Justice and Accountability are three Haitian citizens who claim that they or their loved ones were violently persecuted by Viliena and her political allies.
They accuse Viliena, a staunch ally of former President Sweet Micky Michel Martelly, and his associates of killing the brother of a man who accused Viliena of misconduct in the line of duty, of attempting to kill two others in a raid on a community radio station and burning down 36 houses while attacking political opponents.
The plaintiffs rely on the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991, a United States law that allows civil suits to be brought in the United States against foreign officials suspected of having committed acts of torture or extrajudicial executions if all legal remedies in their country of origin have been exhausted.
The plaintiffs filed complaints against Viliena in Haiti, but he was eventually released and never tried.
Daniel McLaughlin, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said political violence in Haiti is “endemic”.
“It is almost impossible to hold accountable for acts of political violence committed by well-connected people,” he said. “And this level of impunity reigns everywhere in Haiti.
This is not the first time that a former Haitian official has appeared in US court to answer for wrongdoing committed in his country. In 2006, a New York judge ordered former Haitian strongman Emmanuel “Toto” Constant to pay $19 million in damages to three women who claimed they had been gang-raped by paramilitary soldiers under his command.
Viliena, who lives in Malden and is now a lawful permanent resident of the United States, declined to comment and referred questions to her attorney, Peter Haley, who also declined to comment.
In documents filed before trial, Viliena denied the allegations and asked the judge to rule in her favor due to lack of evidence.
Judge Allison Burroughs denied Viliena’s request for dismissal, citing “the weakness, politicization and corruption of the Haitian judicial system” and the risk of retaliation for plaintiffs if they bring legal action in Haiti.
Viliena served as mayor of Les Irois, a town of about 22,000 in Haiti’s far west, from late 2006 to early 2010, according to the complaint.
He was elected as a candidate for the Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement and was backed by the Grande-Anse Resistance Committee, which dominates regional politics through clientelism, threats and gun violence, according to the lawsuit. .
The lawsuit alleges that in 2007, Viliena began a “campaign of persecution” against David Boniface, a political opposition supporter, after he tried to defend a neighbor who was allegedly assaulted by Viliena.
Shortly after, during a hearing before a judge in Les Irois, Boniface accused Viliena of abusing her authority. That evening, Viliena reportedly led a large group of men armed with guns, machetes and clubs to Boniface’s home. In Boniface’s absence, his younger brother, Eclesiaste Boniface, was dragged from the house and fatally shot by one of Viliena’s men, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint also claims that Viliena and his men beat and shot two men at a community radio station in 2008. One of the men, Juders Ysemé, went blind in one eye, while the other lost a leg. and spent several months in the hospital, according to the complaint.
The second man, Nissage Martyr, has since died and his son has taken his place as plaintiff.
The complaint seeks unspecified damages.