Annmarie Fertoli, Associate Producer, WNYC News
Annmarie Fertoli is an Associate Producer at WNYC, working with the afternoon news team to produce All Things Considered.
Dictator Duvalier Returns to Haiti
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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Baby Doc Duvalier in 1975. Some worry about the meaning of the former leader's return to Haiti; his rule was marked by cruelty towards those who opposed him. (Flickr user: a-birdie/flickr)
The Associated Press reports that former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier is facing accusations of corruption and embezzlement, according to one of his lawyers. The news comes just days after Duvalier unexpectedly returned to his native country.
Human Rights Watch is one of several groups calling on the Haitian government to bring Duvalier to justice. In a statement posted on the group's web site, Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director of HRW, said "thousands were killed and tortured, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians fled into exile," under the rule of Duvalier and his police, known as the Tonton Macoutes.
Duvalier served as president from 1971 to 1986, when he was forced out of power.
Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the powerful earthquake that caused widespread destruction in Haiti. The country is also struggling in the aftermath of a cholera outbreak.
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