Haitian President Jovenel Moïse wants to force to retire, by a decree published on the night of Monday 8 to Tuesday 9 February, three judges that the opposition has designated as potential interim leaders, in a context of arm wrestling for the leadership of the country.

"The citizens Yvickel Dieujuste Dabresil, Wendelle Coq Thelot and Joseph Mécène Jean-Louis, judges at the Court of Cassation, are retired," announces the special issue of the Official Journal of Haiti.

These three judges, in a country where justice is theoretically independent according to the Constitution, are close to the political opposition which considers that the mandate of Jovenel Moïse ended on Sunday and consequently appointed Joseph Mécène Jean-Louis as interim leader. .

Judge Yvickel Dieujuste Dabresil, 52, is part of a group of 23 people arrested by police overnight from Saturday to Sunday, accused by the authorities of "attempted coup".

The Haitian fundamental law states that the judges of the highest court of appeal of the country are "irremovable" and that they "can be dismissed only for breach legally pronounced or suspended only following an indictment".

Tuesday afternoon, Judge Dabresil was transferred from the central direction of the judicial police to the civil prison of Croix-des-Bouquets, on the outskirts of the capital.

The concerned UN

Tuesday evening, the American embassy in Haiti indicated on Twitter that the order published in the Official Journal was "being examined by international bodies in order to determine whether it is in conformity with the Constitution and Haitian laws" .

The United Nations has said it is "concerned about recent developments" in the country.

"We insist on the importance of ensuring the separation of powers and the non-politicization and respect for the autonomy of the independence of a judicial power", declared Tuesday Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the organization. .

Jovenel Moïse maintains that his mandate at the head of the Caribbean country runs until February 7, 2022. But this date is denounced by a good part of the Haitian population, according to whom the five-year mandate of Jovenel Moïse ended on Sunday 7 February 2021.

This date disagreement arose from the fact that Jovenel Moïse had been elected in a ballot canceled for fraud, then re-elected a year later.

No Haitian institution can today legally separate these two camps which refuse any dialogue.

Tuesday, after being holed up at home 48 hours, the inhabitants of Port-au-Prince continued to limit their movements to the strict minimum, given the ambient tension.

With AFP

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR