Raboteau Massacre

The Raboteau massacre was an incident on April 22, 1994, in which military and paramilitary forces attacked the neighborhood of Raboteau Gonaïves, Haiti, the citizens of which had been participating in pro-Jean-Bertrand Aristide demonstrations. At least six residents were killed, though most groups estimated the true casualties to be higher.

In 2000, a Haitian court tried fifty-nine people for alleged roles in the massacre, of whom 37, including former coup leader Raoul Cédras, were tried in absentia. Sixteen of those tried in person were convicted, while all 37 of those tried in absentia were convicted and given sentences of life imprisonment. In May 2005, all sentences from the tribunal were overturned by the Supreme Court.

Raboteau is a shanty town neighborhood by the sea in Gonaïves in north-west Haiti. Following the 1991 Haitian coup d'état against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, residents held rallies in support of Aristide and opposing the de facto military dictatorship that replaced him.

On April 22, 1994, soldiers and paramilitary forces made a dawn raid on the neighborhood. They went house-to-house, beating and arresting residents, including children and the elderly, making some lie in open sewers. People who ran were shot. Soldiers also fired indiscriminately on citizens who were collecting firewood, and commandeered rowboats to attack fishing boats off-shore.

The military forbade families from collecting the bodies of the dead, making an exact count impossible. Journalists in Raboteau estimated that at least thirty people were killed, while later court proceedings stated that at least six people were known to have been killed. Human rights lawyers estimated that eight to fifteen people had been killed.

In 2000, fifty-nine people were put on trial for their alleged roles in the massacre, 37 of whom, including coup leader Raoul Cédras, former Chief of National Police Michel François, and paramilitary leaders Emmanuel Constant and Louis-Jodel Chamblain, were tried in absentia. Prosecutors were aided in preparing the case by Mario Joseph and Brian Concannon of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux. The trial lasted 6 weeks and ended on November 9, 2000. The jury found 16 of the 22 defendants in custody guilty of participation in the massacre, acquitting six. Twelve of those found guilty were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the other four were given four- to nine-year sentences. The 37 defendants who were tried in absentia were all convicted and given life sentences of hard labor.

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