Malden truck driver, ex-Haiti mayor, faces civil trial for terrorizing political opponents
Mark Pratt, Associated Press
BOSTON — The former mayor of a small Haitian town is on trial in the United States, accused of terrorizing his political opponents. The civil trial, which began Monday, highlights the violence and lack of accountability in Haiti's politics.
The lawsuit against Jean Morose Viliena is being heard in U.S. District Court in Boston, and includes claims of killing, torture and arson in the town of Les Irois, home to some 22,000 people.
Three Haitian citizens allege they or their relatives were violently persecuted by Viliena and his political allies. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Justice and Accountability in San Francisco.
The defense says the former mayor was not involved in violence and helped improve the town's infrastructure.
His attorney, Peter Haley painted a picture during opening arguments of a farmer's son who got an education and ran for mayor in 2006 to bring the town into the modern world. He did so through more paved roads, a medical clinic, waste pickup and a better education system — all lacking before his election, the defense said.
Viliena, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., moved to Malden, Massachusetts in 2009, drives a truck and is a "very productive member of the community," Haley said.
Bonnie Lau, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the jury that Viliena violently suppressed and intimidated his political foes.
The plaintiffs allege Viliena — a loyalist of former Haitian President Michel Martelly — and his associates killed the brother of a man who accused Viliena of misconduct in office, attempted to kill two others during a raid on a community radio station, and burned down 36 homes while targeting political opponents.
They are suing under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991, a U.S. law that allows civil lawsuits to be filed in the United States against foreign officials alleged to have committed torture or extrajudicial killing if all legal avenues in their home country have been exhausted.
The plaintiffs lodged legal complaints against Viliena in Haiti, but he was ultimately released and never tried.
Lau said they are bringing suit in the U.S. because they were failed by the corrupt Haitian justice system.
"This case is about murder, torture, arson and abuse of power," Lau told the jurors.
Daniel McLaughlin, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said before the trial that political violence in Haiti is "endemic."
"It is almost impossible to seek accountability for acts of political violence that are committed by well-connected individuals," he said. "And that level of impunity reigns throughout Haiti."
It's not the first time a former Haitian official has gone before an American court to answer for alleged wrongdoing in their homeland. In 2006, a New York judge ordered former Haitian strongman Emmanuel "Toto" Constant to pay $19 million in damages to three women who said they were gang-raped by paramilitary soldiers under his command.
From late 2006 to early 2010, Viliena was the mayor of the town located on the westernmost tip of Haiti, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of the capital Port-au-Prince, the lawsuit says.
He was elected as a candidate for the Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement and was backed by the Committee for Resistance in Grande-Anse, which according to the lawsuit dominates regional politics through patronage, threats and armed violence.
The suit alleges that in 2007, Viliena began a "campaign of persecution" against David Boniface, a supporter of the political opposition, after he tried to defend a neighbor who Viliena allegedly assaulted for piling garbage in the street
During a hearing before a judge in Les Irois a short time later, Boniface accused Viliena of abusing his authority. Viliena allegedly led a large group of men armed with guns, machetes and clubs to Boniface's home that evening. In Boniface's absence, his younger brother, Eclesiaste Boniface, was dragged out of the house and fatally shot by one of Viliena's men, the lawsuit says.
"They left his body on the street all night to send a message," Lau said.
The suit also alleges that Viliena and his men beat and shot two men at a community radio station in 2008. Juders Ysemé was blinded in one eye, while the other lost one of his legs and spent several months in the hospital, according to the suit.
The second man, Nissage Martyr, has since died and his son has taken his place as a plaintiff.
The plaintiffs also allege that Viliane's allies burned down dozens of homes where his political opponents lived in 2009 in retribution for the death of one of those allies. Even though Viliane was not present during the arson, his allies acted on his orders, Lau said.
The suit seeks unspecified damages.