The UIA is pleased with the peaceful end to the conflict initiated by the arbitrary arrest of lawyer André Michel

On 27 November, after more than a month-long strike by lawyers, the Justice Minister, Jean Renel Sanon and the President of the Port-au-Prince Law Society, Mr. Carlos Hercule, announced the end of the dispute provoked by the arbitrary arrest of Mr. André Michel in a joint press release.

Mr. Michel, representing the civil party in a corruption case involving the entourage of the Haitian President, was arrested on 22 October in conditions contrary to the specific guarantees granted to lawyers by the law, which led to violent demonstrations and the indignation of law professionals and the political class. The Port-au-Prince Bar President, Mr. Carlos Hercule, had then called for an indefinite strike.

The Bar Council, followed by a large number of lawyers, called for the dismissal of the Francisco René government’s Commissioner, who was behind Mr. Michel’s arrest, as they believed that the Public Prosecutor’s conduct constituted a hindrance to the practice of the profession. Mr. René had also issued arrest warrants against five other lawyers, including the Bar President Hercule.

The agreement between the Justice Ministry and the Port-au-Prince Bar seems to have paved the way for a new stage of collaboration among the institutions, for a reduction in judicial impediments and a decrease in the number of preventive detentions as well as in their duration.

The UIA maintained continuous contact with the Bar during these events.