HaitiAction.net UPDATE:
Rev. Father Gerard Jean-Juste

Photo: Margaret Trost - Rev. Father Jean-Juste standing at the site of the new chapel he's building - St. Jude's Chapel.

Father Jean-Juste standing next to students who are able to go to school because of What If? Foundation scholarships

© Scott Brayley - St. Joseph the Worker church, Berkeley, CA USA. Father Jean Juste from Haiti spoke about the current situation and Father Aristide.

Rev. Father Gerard Jean-Juste has been in the news recently as a result of his recent arrest, status as one of the hundreds of political prisoners in Haiti. On this update page we'll compile the various stories that appeared here on HaitiAction.net and elswhere on the web.

Messages from Father Jean-Juste in Haiti prison: Njera Njeri Penitentiary

Haiti prisoner Father Jean-Juste denied medical treatment by coup government Aug 23

The UN, US, France and Canada support draconian laws and a "fascist" movement in Haiti Aug 23

29 Members of Congress pressure Bush for the release of political prisoner Father Gerard Jean-Juste Washington, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to take action to obtain the release of Father Gerard Jean-Juste from prison in Haiti.

Human Rights Alert
Attacks Against Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste on March 24 and 25, 2005

Haiti church fired on during radio interview with Father Jean-Juste Friday, March 25

Event with Fr. Jean-Juste - Jan 29 2005 Berkeley CA

Haitian Police Open Fire on Nonviolent March for Democracy a first hand account of the continued and brutal repression by the US installed coup government on Lavalas. by Bill Quigly who was attending a peaceful demonstration in Bel Air with Father Gerard Jean-Juste Feb 28

They Can Take My Body,But Not My Soul! Interview with
Father Gerard Jean-Juste in hiding - 1992 - During the Duvalier dictatorship, Father Gerard Jean-Juste spent 26 years in exile, most of it working with Haitian refugees in the United States. He is now back in Haiti, working as head of the "10th department" -- all Haitians living in the diaspora. Though he is living in hiding, Jean-Juste remains an outspoken critic of the de facto military government that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office in September 1991. "The army says there's a price on my head. Well, they can take my body, but not my soul!" So proclaims the Haitian priest, Gerard Jean-Juste with a defiant smile. Armed with a cellular telephone, Jean-Juste is a thorn in the side of the coup government, giving daily interviews to radio stations in Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, and Miami, as well as news reports to Haitian periodicals and radio stations. The following is a transcript taken from an interview that Mev Puleo did with Gerard Jean-Juste in Haiti in 1992.

Father Jean-Juste in Isolation & New Charges Update from Father Jean Juste's co-counsel Bill Quigley Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste is being held in isolation in the Haitian National Penitentiary and the Coup Government is fishing to find something to charge him with. July 24

Catholic Priest arrested in Haiti - Listen to Father Jean-Juste on Flashpoints as he's being arrested – Port au Prince, Haiti (HIP) Heavily armed units of the Haitian National Police (PNH) arrested Catholic priest Gerard Jean-Juste today at his parish of St. Claire in the poor neighborhood of Petite Place Cazeau. The U.S.-backed government of Gerard Latortue accused Father Jean-Juste of importing arms and harboring gunmen in his parish. October 13, 2004

Masked Haitian Police Shoot Children While Arresting Priest - Oct 21, 2004

IJDH Human Rights Alert:
Illegal Arrest of Catholic Priest, Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste

Congresswomen Maxine Waters:
Letter to Colin Powell to protect the life of Father Gerard Jean-Juste - Oct 13 2004

Haiti's Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste to hold his first New York Press Conference since his release after six weeks as a political prisoner in Haiti Dec 14 2004

Haiti: Political Prisoner Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste Released (IJDH) Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste, the pastor of Sainte Claire Catholic Church in Delmas, Haiti, was released after almost seven weeks of illegal detention. The release follows a sustained campaign of international support for Fr. Jean-Juste by prominent religious figures, lawyers, grassroots groups and human rights advocates in Haiti and throughout the world. The release shows that collective action for justice can succeed, and offers hope for Haiti's other 700 political prisoners. Nov 29 2004

Haitian Priest Jailed Indefinitely for 40 Cent Crime - After over a week in jail, the charges against Haitian priest Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste have finally been made public by the government. Fr. Jean-Juste, a powerful advocate of the poor, was arrested October 13, 2004, by masked heavily armed gunmen while feeding 600 children at his parish of St. Claire in Port au Prince. The unelected government of Haiti has accused him of providing support for the opposition. At one point they suggested that he provided "guns and money for terrorists."
Oct 20 2004

Tearing up the Charter: UN's Erosion Continues in Haiti Flashpoints Radio's Dennis Bernstein Interviews Kevin Pina and Brian Concannon. October 18, 2004