Haiti - Justice : Haitian law grows, 30 to 50 years in jail for kidnapping
Tuesday, the Senators voted unanimously, after amendments, the bill amending the law of January 20, 2009 on kidnapping, illegal restraint and hostage taking, already ratified in the first reading by the Lower House. This law will now have to return (shuttle) before the deputies to be ratified in second reading in the same terms, before being sent to the Executive for publication in the official newspaper "Le Moniteur".
This law, which amends sections of the Penal Code (289 to 293) and the Criminal Code (95 and 251), aims to tighten the penalties for individuals convicted of kidnapping who will be sentenced to 30 to 50 years imprisonment (Article 290) without the possibility of release for the convicted person before the end of his sentence as stipulated in Article 95a (added) to the code of criminal instructions, which states that provisional release is never allowed for kidnapping, or the raising of the arrest warrant or committal order. This law provides for severe penalties against the judicial authorities who do not respect these measures (95-2).
Article 291 provides for a subsequent offense, the offender is liable to life imprisonment
In its amended article 289, this Act defined the act of kidnapping "[...] is described as kidnapping the fact by an individual to attack by surprise, with or without violence, a person, to seize it and keep it in one or more specified places, under the threat or not of the executor if a ransom is not paid within a period fixed by the abductor."
