Haiti Renews Passport for Ex-Dictator Duvalier
Haiti Renews Passport for Ex-Dictator Duvalier
Haitian officials have renewed the diplomatic passport of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, his attorney said Saturday.
Lawyer Reynold Georges said the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reissued the expired travel document for Duvalier last month as is customary for ex-presidents and former prime ministers.
“They have to, because he’s an ex-president,” Georges said by telephone. “This is not something people should talk about. It’s common practice.”
Duvalier suddenly came back to Haiti in 2011 following 25 years in exile in France. Upon his return, Haitian authorities opened an investigation into the human rights abuses associated with his 15-year rule. But the judge instead recommended that Duvalier be indicted for only financial crimes, and faces no more than five years if convicted.