Haitian journalist Garry Tesse was on his way to work at a local radio station in the southern city of Les Cayes when he disappeared shortly after exiting a taxi. His naked and disfigured corpse was found six days later, sparking outrage and street protests.
But the investigation into the October 2022 murder of the popular 39-year-old radio journalist has languished, leading his family and friends to accuse the government of a cover-up to protect the man in charge of prosecuting the crime, Ronald Richemond. Tesse had gone on his radio show to accuse Richemond, an influential local prosecutor and political appointee, of plotting to have him killed weeks before the murder. Now, a former member of Richemond’s security team has provided new details on the alleged plot.
Three days after Tesse’s dead body was discovered, Richemond issued a video statement on Facebook in which he rejected the accusations against him, and to date, Richemond has not been charged with any crime. But his controversial handling of the case, which involved the arrest of another local journalist, has led to calls for a full investigation from local media organizations and the country’s public ombudsman.
“This case must be resolved as soon as possible. A message urgently needs to be sent to prevent this chronic impunity from triggering more crimes against journalists,” said Guy Delva, president of Haitian group SOS Journalistes, who has investigated the case.
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The Committee to Protect Journalists joined its international partners on Friday in signing a letter urging the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL) to publish its investigation into the murder of Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli forces in south Lebanon on October 13, 2023. Four journalists injured in the same attack also signed the letter.
According to Reuters, which published the conclusions of the seven-page report summarizing the investigation, UNIFIL found that an Israeli tank killed Abdallah by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists” in violation of international law.
UNIFIL personnel did not record any exchange of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon for more than 40 minutes before the Israeli Merkava tank opened fire, according to the excerpts of the UNFIL report.
The letter, addressed to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and other leaders, reflects CPJ’s wider calls for action by the international community, published December 2023.
We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.