ANAGH Denounces Acts of Barbarism by Police Officers Against Court Clerks

In some jurisdictions of the country, relations between Haitian National Police officers and court clerks or prosecutor's clerks never seem to be harmonious. In a statement released on Monday, October 20, 2025, the National Association of Court Clerks of Haiti strongly protests against the manhunt carried out by some police officers against court clerks, prosecutor's clerks, and bailiffs in various jurisdictions across the country. «The National Association of Court Clerks of Haiti (ANAGH) raises a strong and solemn protest against the manhunt carried out by certain officers of the Haitian National Police (HNP) against Court Clerks, Prosecutor's Clerks, and Bailiffs, who are nevertheless sworn ministerial and public officers, indispensable pillars of the Haitian judicial system,» reads the statement. Examples of blatant cases A case perpetrated in Jérémie on July 9 against bailiff Jean Lenis Sénéa by a female police officer «without any motive»; prosecutor's clerk Garlin Hilaire was beaten by a police officer between September 6 and 7, 2025, in Dame Marie despite presenting his badge. Two other cases are mentioned: one in Léogane on September 16 against court clerk Ivanel Jules and another at the Justice of the Peace Court of Delmas against court clerk Paplito Louiceus. According to ANAGH, these repeated aggressions indicate an alarming institutional drift, where the armed force claims to substitute itself for the law and the respect due to the symbols of the Republic. The Association recalls that this very year, police officers had already burst into an investigating judge's chambers to forcibly remove a defendant being questioned by a judge, and that in 2024, other officers had threatened the life of the Government Commissioner of Cap-Haïtien, Me Charles Édouard Durant. These precedents, combined with recent events, confirm the existence of a climate of impunity and total contempt for judicial authority. Attacking court clerks is attacking justice itself Court Clerks, Prosecutor's Clerks, and Bailiffs are essential actors of justice, guarantors of procedural regularity, the record of judicial decisions, and the proper functioning of the courts. To brutalize them is to attack justice itself. Recommendations and warning In response to these acts, the National Association of Haitian Court Clerks demands from the Director General of the Haitian National Police, the General Inspectorate of the HNP, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the immediate opening of administrative and judicial investigations against the culpable police officers, so that they may be prosecuted and sanctioned according to the law. It invites the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ) to publicly comment on these serious attacks on the dignity and security of judicial personnel. It solemnly warns that if no concrete measures are taken within a reasonable timeframe, the Court Clerks, Prosecutor's Clerks, and Bailiffs of the affected jurisdictions will refuse to receive any accused, defendant, or detainee brought by a police officer from the police stations involved in these abuses. «Haitian justice cannot and must not operate under terror,» states ANAGH, which calls for a national awakening for the protection of those who serve the law, and reaffirms its determination to defend, to the end, the honor, security, and respectability of the judicial profession. Gedeon Delva