Crime in Haiti: Archbishop of Port-au-Prince condemns kidnapping of Father Emmanuel Saintriart of Gressier

Port-au-Prince, July 2, 2024 (AlterPresse) — The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince condemned the kidnapping of Catholic priest Emmanuel Saintéliat, parish priest of Saint Jean Baptiste in the commune of Gressier (approximately 30 km south of Port-au-Prince), in a note dated July 1, 2024, noted by the online agency AlterPresse.

St. Liat “never abandoned the community for which he was responsible as priest and was always willing to serve everyone”, stressed the note signed by the Rev. Father Marc Henry Siméon, director of the institution’s communications services.

The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince has spoken out against the assassination of several residents of Greciel and the attempted burning of a police station, while condemning the unspeakable acts of murderous violence that have been and continue to be committed by illegal armed elements in the city.

According to poignant testimonies circulating on social networks, several unarmed residents of Gresier were shot in their homes by armed assailants, and many had to flee.

In the early hours of Monday, July 1, 2024, a public transport driver serving the Jacmel/Port-au-Prince route was shot dead by armed bandits, whose body was then burned.

This deliberate violation of citizens’ rights “is proof that some areas of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area still escape the control of public forces, but it is also proof that we are passively imprisoned in an evil spiral that is eating away our society,” the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince said.

The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, while demanding the swift release of Father Emmanuel Santeria, reminded the state authorities of “the urgent need to act to put an end to this situation of violence and restore the right to life of the people” in the country.

St. Liat was kidnapped shortly after armed gang members again attacked and ransacked the Gresier police station on Sunday, June 30, 2024.

On the afternoon of July 1, a police “task force” from the Great South intervened forcefully We regained control of the Gracier Police Department, which was partially destroyed by these robbers.. (emb 2024-04-02 13:45)