SOURCE: Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

A human rights worker whose colleague was abducted last August has been forced into
hiding after receiving new threats. Wilson Mesilien has been serving as the interim
head of the September 30th Foundation, a human rights organization based in
Port-au-Prince. He assumed the role of interim director of the organization after
the abduction and disappearance of the it's founder Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine over
four months ago.

Pressure has mounted in recent weeks for the safe return of Mr. Pierre-Antoine as
friends and supporters have stated they believe he is still alive and being held
against his will in Haiti. In a recent interview from London, Selma James of the
Global Women's Strike described a mounting international campaign on behalf of Mr.
Pierre-Antoine. Mrs, James, widow of the renowned author CLR James stated, "We have
an obligation to do something. We can't just stand by...for example we have to ask
the Commissioner for Human Rights and Forced Disappearances of the United Nations to
take some action. We have to leave no stone unturned." Mrs. James continued, "What
is the United States doing? The United States has enormous powers to find people, or
i think to lose them sometimes...so let us ask them what are they doing with the
great resources that they have always had at their disposal. We must demand that he
return...we are not satisfied."

Amnesty International issued a press release this past December 20 calling upon
Haitian authorities to step up their efforts to find Mr. Pierre-Antoine and to
provide protection to Mr. Mesilien. According to Mr. Mesilien a new round of threats
against him began on Christmas eve beginning with rumors spread throughout the
capital that he had been abducted. "This is how it usually begins....with rumors
that something has already happened to you. This was followed by more direct threats
against me and the September 30 Foundation. I am obliged to take precautions for my
personal safety and that of my family." stated Mr. Mesilien during a phone interview
yesterday from an undisclosed location in Haiti's capital.