A delegation from the human rights group Amnesty Interna-tional expressed concern on Thursday about "serious problems" in Haiti's police force and justice system as the team ended a visit after more than a month of sporadic violence.
The delegation cited reports of summary executions by police, beatings by police and illegal arrests. Scores of people have been killed in recent violence pitting police against armed supporters of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
"There are serious problems in the functioning of ... justice in particular and the functioning of the police in general," the delegation said in a statement, concluding an 18-day visit.
The group urged the interim government to create an independent commission to investigate executions carried out by men in black uniforms and masks.
Residents in one Port-au-Prince slum reported 13 killed on Oct. 26 by men who appeared to be police. Residents elsewhere said four young men were slain on Oct. 28 by men in black uniforms who used a police vehicle.
Police denied involvement, and Justice Minister Bernard Gousse ordered an investigation to determine whether rogue officers were involved.
Gousse said on Thursday he was "very adamant" that just as with fighting crime, "with the same strength I will fight human rights abuses."
Amnesty criticized the government's choice of putting a public prosecutor in charge of the investigation. Gousse defended it as standard procedure in a murder investigation.
At least 86 people have been killed in Port-au-Prince since Sept. 30, including a bus driver and a 1-year-old girl shot and killed by unidentified gunman at an intersection on Wednesday night, said a local doctor.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
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Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
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