Raboteau is a neighborhood by the sea in Gonaïves in north-west Haiti. On April 22, 1994, during the 1991-1994 de facto military dictatorship that came to power following the 1991 Haitian coup d'état against Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a group of Aristide supporters were beaten and killed by civilian and para-military forces (including the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, FRAPH). The raid occurred as part of a nationwide policy to clamp down on pro-democratic activities. During the de facto dictatorship, citizens of Raboteau organized demonstrations, hid fugitives and distributed pro-Aristide literature. On April 22, the military authorities went house to house terrorizing the citizens of Raboteau. Those who remained were arrested, beaten, or dunked in the open sewers. Those who fled were hunted down arrested, tortured or shot. The attack continued onto the water when the attackers commandeered fishing boats to shoot people fleeing on the sea. Soldiers and paramilitaries prevented the relatives of the victims from claiming the victims' bodies. Several were buried in shallow graves and other were left at sea.[1] According to News Haiti, 26 people died in the attack;[2] however, some estimates put the total killed at 50.[3]
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Criminal Tribunal of Gonaïves: Brian Concannon and Mario Joseph from the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (a group of local and international lawyers who represent victims of human rights violations in Haiti), along with a special police investigation team, local and international judicial officials, and the victims spent five years to get the Raboteau Massacre case to trial.[1]
The BAI prepared complaints for the victims, represented them in court proceedings, and helped them advocate outside of the courtroom. Under the French system adopted in Haiti, BAI was able to participate in almost all phases of the criminal cases via the "Partie-Civile" process, which allows civil cases to be 'piggybacked' on criminal cases. In addition to the victims, the BAI worked closely with prosecutors, the investigating magistrates, police, and national officials.[4]
In total, 59 people were tried for their involvement in the massacre; however, only 22 people were in custody at the time of the trial. Many of the 37 defendants tried in absentia were high ranking officials of the 1991‑94 de facto regime, including Emmanuel "Toto" Constant, the founder of FRAPH; Col. Carl Dorélien; Raoul Cédras, the leader of the military junta; and Louis-Jodel Chamblain.
Every day of the trial was observed by Haitian human rights organizations and MICAH, the United Nations Support Mission to Haiti.[5] Logistics for the trial were run by Office for Support of the Raboteau Massacre Trial, a special organization established by President Rene Preval and run by Ms. Florence Elie. The prosecution's case was mainly based on eyewitness testimony. 34 witnesses testified for the prosecution, including victims' neighbors and local officials. Forensic evidence was also presented by an international team of forensic anthropologists, who had exhumed and analyzed the bodies of three of those killed in the massacre, led by Dr. Karen Burns of the University of Georgia and Dr. Michele Harvey from the University of Toronto (Mimi Doretti of the Argentinian Forensic Anthropology Team led the investigations but was unable to testify at trial). Observations from the evidence gathered included injured bones, clothing and ropes tied around skeletons' necks. DNA evidence from two bodies matched victim reports.[4]
The 37 tried in absentia were charged on command responsibility and accomplice theories. Colin Granderson, the former head of MICIVIH, (U.N./O.A.S. human rights mission to Haiti) testified about how the neighborhood of Raboteau had been targeted throughout the coup years, with the leadership aware of and even covering up the Massacre. Two former Colonels in the Argentine army, from Centro de Militares Para la Democracia Argentina delivered a report based on their 1999 investigation. The report demonstrated how the entire military structure in Haiti was geared towards carrying out or tolerating attacks on civilian political opponents, and established how the military leadership was responsible for the massacre under Haitian military regulations and international law.[4]
The trial lasted 6 weeks and ended on November 9, 2000. The jury found 16 of the 22 defendants in custody guilty of participation in the massacre. On November 16, 2000, all 37 defendant who were tried in absentia were convicted with life sentences of hard labor.[6] Under Haitian law however, those convicted in absentia have a right to a retrial if they ever surrender or are arrested. Furthermore, the court issued a civil judgment of 1 billion Gourdes damages (about 43 million dollars) to the victims and their families.[7]
The Raboteau case is one of the most important human rights trial ever in the Americas. It struck a blow against the country's historical impunity for large-scale, political attacks, and demonstrated that the courts could be used by the poor to defend their interests against the powerful. The case reflected marked improvement of the Haiti judiciary system from the transition to democracy in 1994. The national and international monitors who watched the trial included Adama Dieng, the United Nations independent Expert on Haiti and the UN Support Mission to Haiti at the time.[5] They determined the case to be fair to both victims and defendants. The Haitian justice system also followed all the relevant procedures during the course of the trial. All the defendants in the Raboteau case were held under bilingual (French/Kreyol) warrants. They were represented from the beginning by some of the best of Haiti's Criminal lawyers, who fought the decision all the way to Haiti's Supreme Court.[8] Finally the jury members represented many geographic, economic and social backgrounds.[4]
On May 16, 2008, the Raboteau Massacre victims received over $400,000 in court-awarded damages, from Col. Carl Dorélien a member of the de facto dictatorship’s Military High Command who fled to Florida after democracy was restored to Haiti.[9]
The Raboteau victims’ fight for justice was the subject a documentary, Pote Mak Sonje: The Raboteau Trial.[10]
On May 3, 2005, in a decision decried as a "huge step backwards" by Amnesty International,[11] the Supreme Court of Haiti quashed the verdict of the tribunal and overturned the sentences of all those imprisoned by the Criminal Tribunal of the Gonaives for their involvement in the Raboteau Massacre. The reversal was condemned by the international community as unconstitutional and widely regarded as politically motivated.[12][11]
The verdict specifically reversed the decision that the Haitian Constitution of 1987 required a jury trial for the Raboteau Massacre case—a determination that was not questioned by the defendants' attorneys in any of their appeals. The court found that a 1928 law in Haiti's Code for Criminal Procedure, requiring trials for multiple related crimes to be held without a jury in a special felony court, trumped the 1987 constitution. Though the constitution requires jury trials for all crimes de sang ("blood felonies" such as murder), the court found that it did not apply to the Raboteau Massacre because crimes de sang were not explicitly defined.[11] Rather than ordering a retrial, the court quashed the sentences without possibility of a new trial.[13]
The 37 in absentia sentences remained valid, as the judge made sentences without input from the jury.[14] They are not, however, enforceable, as the defendants have a right to a retrial.
Emmanuel “Toto” Constant fled Haiti on foot into the Dominican Republic from which he was able to fly to the United States.
He was eventually jailed by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. As reported by David Grann, in his article in the Atlantic Monthly “Giving ‘The Devil’ His due....” Constant worked with the CIA, by his own admission and that of U.S government sources.[15] In 1996, Secretary of State Warren Christopher submitted an affidavit to the immigration court, advocating Constant's deportation. Secretary Christopher noted the extensive and credible accusations of human rights violations by Constant, and reasoned that a failure to deport Constant would give the appearance that the U.S. government supported Constant's activities. The judge agreed and issued a deportation order, but it has not been executed. Following the order, Constant filed suit against Janet Reno claiming that the CIA had "collaborated" with him. Constant was eventually freed from U.S. custody with a gag order.[15]
In 2006, Constant was ordered by a New York state court to pay $19 million in civil damages to three women who had been raped and tortured by the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti.[16] The case was brought by the Center for Justice & Accountability and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
In 2008, Constant was convicted of six felony counts related to mortgage fraud and sentenced to 12 - 37 years in prison.[17] He is currently incarcerated in a maximum security prison in New York.[18]
Carl Dorelien, was a colonel in the Haitian military during the 1991-1994 coup, in charge of discipline and personnel matters. Following the restoration of Haiti’s democracy, Dorelien fled to the United States.[19] In 2003, he was deported to Haiti because of his human rights record, and was taken into custody for his absentia conviction. He chose not to exercise his right to a new trial. One year after his return President Aristide was once again ousted in a coup in 2004 and Dorelien escaped prison. He has not been returned to prison as of May 2008.
The Center for Justice and Accountability filed a suit against Dorelien just before his deportation. The suit was brought under the Alien Tort Statute seeking civil damages for the deaths of plaintiff Marie Jean’s husband, who was killed in the Raboteau Massacre, and the arbitrary detainment and torture of labor leader Lexiuste Cajuste. On February 23, 2007, Dorelien was found civilly liable in U.S. Federal Court for torture and extrajudicial killing. He was ordered to pay $4.3 million in civil damages.
In 1997, Dorelien won $3 million in the Florida Lottery. His winnings were successfully garnished and placed into escrow. In August 2006, on C.J.A.’s movement, the state court of Florida ruled the Haitian civil judgment against Dorelien was enforceable in the U.S.[20]
The assets seized from Col. Dorelien were distributed to the Raboteau victims on May 16, 2008. Pamela Merchant, the Executive Director of CJA, said “The Raboteau victims deserve payment of the $400,000 for their injuries and suffering in 1994. But they have also have earned this award through their tireless and courageous efforts for justice over 14 years and in two countries.”[21] The National Lawyers Guild also congratulated the victims of the Raboteau Massacre on their historic victory.
Mario Joseph, the Managing Attorney of the BAI said, “The damage award is a victory for all Haitians. The Raboteau Trial in Haiti built faith in justice, because it showed that poor people were able to use the courts to protect their rights against the rich and powerful. The U.S. case will build faith in solidarity, because CJA and other U.S. lawyers showed that people in the U.S. will work as long and as hard as necessary to vindicate our rights.”
Brian Concannon Jr., Director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), who has worked on the case since 1995, said “This day was a long time in coming, but it could not have come at a better time. With Haiti caught in a food crisis, the money will be a life-saver for some. With Haiti struggling through a democratic transition, the lesson that persistent, non-violent fighting for justice can bear fruit can be an inspiration for the whole country to work for a more stable and just future.”