Haitian Journalist Roberson Alphonse Recovering in Hospital After Surviving Assassination Attempt
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti –The United States has condemned the attack on journalists in Haiti as prominent media worker, Roberson Alphonse, is recovering in hospital after he was shot in his car while on his way to work in the capital on Tuesday.
The bullet holes in his vehicle. (via Le Nouvelliste)Alphonse, who works at the daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste and radio station Magik9, has already undergone two operations and according to his editor, Frantz Duval, is expected to survive.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Tess Garry and the attack on Roberson Alphonse. The United States Embassy in Haiti wishes Roberson Alphonse a speedy recovery. We strongly condemn all attacks on journalists. The United States are committed to protecting and advancing freedom of the press,” the US Embassy said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the authorities found the body of Garry who had been missing for several days. He used to host a political talk show in the southern city of Les Cayes, according to the government’s Office of Citizen Protection, which said it was extremely worried about the security of journalists in Haiti and urged that journalists be protected.
The Ministry of Culture and Communication said it learned “with horror the news of the assassination attempt” that occurred in the Delmas neighbourhood, adding Alphonse’s rigour, his effort to be impartial, and his sense of perfection makes him a model for the profession.
Media reports said that the gunmen fired several shots at the vehicle and Duval thanked an unidentified person he said rescued Alphonse and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding before medical help arrived.
Roberson Alphonse
Haitian legislator, Joseph Lambert, said the bullet holes traced on the windshield of the vehicle driven “are unequivocally similar to an assassination attempt. A judicial inquiry is required,” while former legislator, Jocelerme Privert, said Alphonse is well known “and appreciated for his high level of professionalism.
“I unequivocally express my total disapproval of the trivialization of life and the constant threat hanging over the lives of peaceful citizens, including press workers in the country. I send my wishes for a speedy recovery to this great friend who is for me Roberson Alphonse,” Privert added.
Observers here say the incident highlights the deteriorating security situation in a country racked by gang violence and opposition demands for the removal of Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry, who came to office last year following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July.
No one has been arrested in either case, although journalists in Haiti have long been the target of warring gangs who have grown more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
The attacks come more than a month after two other journalists identified as Tayson Latigue and Frantzsen Charles were fatally shot and their bodies set on fire while reporting in a slum controlled by gangs.
In January, gang members killed two other journalists who were reporting in Laboule, a community south of Port-au-Prince.
