Yvon Neptune

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Yvon Neptune (photo (c) AP)

Yvon Neptune (born November 8, 1946 at Cavaillon) was the Prime Minister of Haïti from 2002 until 2004. He was appointed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and took office on March 15, 2002. On March 2, 2004, shortly after Aristide's resignation, a mob attempted to arrest Neptune on corruption charges, but it was not successful. The mob was reportedly organized by Guy Phillipe after Neptune gave an interview to Kevin Pina of KPFA Flashpoints in California and the Black Commentator, and Andrea Nicastro of the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. In the interview ^[1] Neptune claims he was not even present when interim-president Boniface Alexandre was sworn into office. He also refers to himself as a prisoner in his own office and backs Aristide's claims that he was forced out of office under duress.US Marines guarding his residence killed two gunmen there. Neptune was replaced on March 12, 2004, by an unelected provisional government, led by Gérard Latortue, which had been appointed three days earlier.

On March 27, 2004, the provisional government banned Neptune from leaving the country, along with 36 other senior officials of the Aristide administration, in order to more easily investigate corruption allegations. On June 27, 2004, Neptune turned himself in to the Haïtian police and was held without charge. According to the Haïtian constitution, a hearing before a judge is required within 48 hours for anyone arrested, but Neptune was not given such a hearing. On May 4, 2005, Thierry Fagart, the chief of the human rights division at the UN's Haiti mission, called Neptune's detention illegal. ^[2]

On February 19, 2005, Neptune was taken into protective custody by United Nations peacekeeping forces and handed himself back^[3] to Haïtian authorities after a Port-au-Prince penitentiary breakout.

On April 18, 2005, former Prime Minister Neptune began a hunger strike, refusing hospitalization and offers of medical attention abroad. On May 5 he was reported as being "near death".

On June 23, 2005, the UN's special envoy to Haïti, Juan Gabriel Valdes criticized the Haïtian government's handling of Yvon Neptune and called for his release from prison.

After spending two years in prison and never having been tried, he was released on July 28, 2006.^[4]^[5] The charges against him have not been dropped; he was released on health and humanitarian grounds. Hundreds of other members of the deposed Aristide admninistration remain in custody without trial.