Sixteen soldiers found guilty in Haiti's "coup trial"

GONAIVES, Haiti (Reuters) -- In a case billed as a trial of Haiti's post-coup period of the early 1990s, 16 former soldiers and their accomplices were found guilty on Friday of taking part in a massacre of slum-dwellers in 1994.

Judge Nepela Saintil handed 12 of the defendants life sentences of hard labor for charges of murder and complicity of murder. Four others received sentences ranging from four to nine years and six were acquitted.

The trial was a landmark in that it brought to justice a large group of former Haitian military and paramilitary officers for human rights abuses committed during a period of violent military rule in the early 1990s after the 1991 overthrow of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.

"I'm very satisfied because 22 people were tried, and of those, 16 were found guilty," said Mario Joseph, a prosecutor who has worked on the case for the past four years. "And of those, 12 will stay in jail for the rest of their life."

"There's not much competition (in terms of the scope of the trial). I think by far it's the largest in terms of number of witnesses, in terms of the number of defendants, in terms of the number of days, and the complexity of issues, " said Brian Concannon, a U.S. attorney with the Bureau of International Lawyers who has helped Haitian prosecutors prepare the case.

According to the prosecution, soldiers and gunmen attacked the seaside neighborhood of Raboteau, a slum district of the city of Gonaives, 70 miles (112 km) north of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in the early morning of April 22, 1994.

Raboteau residents fled into the sea, were shot at, and some were later beaten. At least six deaths were recorded, but Concannon estimated that eight to 15 people were killed. Documenting the total death count has been difficult because some bodies were washed away by the sea.

The massacre was apparently a attempt by military and paramilitary groups to quell growing unrest in Gonaives city, which had become a rallying point in calls around the country for the return of Aristide, who was living in exile.

The trial, which began on September 29, brought 30 people from Raboteau to testify, along with five expert witnesses, including a forensic anthropologist and a geneticist.

Some 36 of the 58 defendants in the case live outside Haiti and were tried in absentia, including Raoul Cedras and Philippe Biamby, two leaders of the September 1991 coup that overthrew Aristide.

Aristide was restored to power in late 1994 after a U.S.-led military invasion to restore political order in Haiti.

Those tried in absentia received a contumacy trial in September, meaning they are presumed guilty. This will enable police to arrest them on Haitian soil, let victims and their family seek compensation and expedite extradition requests.

Survivors and families of the victims, sitting attentively on the front rows under a big-top tent behind the court house, seemed pleased with the verdict.

"It went well and justice was served," said Melca Guillaume, a 22-year-old survivor pointing to the scars from the beating on her back inflicted by one of those found guilty, Capt. Castera Cenafils.

"I'm fine, I'm happy, because if Castera found his freedom, many, many more people could be victims."

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