Haiti

Aristide official is jailed in Feb. political killings

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's interior minister was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of orchestrating the killings of several people presumed to be Aristide opponents, officials said.

The arrest of Jocelerme Privert - the highest-ranking official to be detained since Aristide's departure on Feb. 29 - comes as former government leaders and members of Aristide's political party have complained that Haiti's interim leaders are targeting them.

"I hope this is done with due process because if not it appears to be a witch hunt," said Leslie Voltaire, a former Aristide Cabinet member. "We don't think it's a good step for rebuilding the country."

Privert was accused in the mid February killings of several suspected Aristide opponents in St. Marc, a northern port city where violence flared before the armed rebellion that pushed Aristide from power, the new government said.

Although Privert allegedly conspired to kill several people in the town, officials did not say how many people were killed, nor did they provide names of those allegedly slain.

Privert was held at the national penitentiary. Law requires that he hear the charges against him within 48 hours.

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