Following reports that agents of the General Security Unit of the National Palace (USGPN) would have fired at the height of man on demonstrators in the vicinity of the National Palace, Monday, June 24, 2019, Jean-Claude Benjamin the spokesman of the General Inspectorate of the National Police of Haiti (IGPNH) announces that an investigation was opened.

Recall that this incident occurred while some protesters fleeing the streets of Saint-Honoré, La Réuion and Mgr Guilloux, have crossed a barrier to access the Court of the former barracks. It was at this time that USGPN officers fired on the protesters, according to some witnesses and members of the opposition, without any knowledge of whether there were any victims and how many...

Also 24 hours after this incident, the IGPNH confirms that an investigation is underway to discover what is true in these allegations. The IGPNH indicates that investigators are on the ground to collect the testimony and that officials of certain units of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) were convened to be heard in the context of this case.

Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner Jean-Claude Benjamin refuted allegations by the opposition that armed civilians have reportedly beaten protesters in the presence of police officers. He claims to have seen no image of these alleged abuses, nor received any complaints from a victim about this.

TB/ HaitiLibre