Police Brutality Against Journalists: CPP Addresses HNP Director General
By Gedeon Delva · Port-au-Prince · · 2 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
In a letter addressed to the Director General of the Haitian National Police, Vladimir Paraison, on November 20, 2025, the Collective of Press Professionals (CPP) denounced acts of violence committed by police officers against journalists. The organization believes that these recurring incidents seriously undermine freedom of the press and, in most cases, go unpunished.
The collective highlights several cases that have occurred in recent years, which it considers indicative of persistent dysfunctions in the interactions between certain police officers and media professionals.
These cases include the death of journalist Lazarre Maxiben, killed on February 23, 2022, during a police intervention on the sidelines of a workers' demonstration; the serious injury of Jean Marc Jean, hit in the eye by a tear gas canister fired from a vehicle identified as belonging to UDMO Ouest, on February 8, 2024; the threats reported by Love-Mackendy Paul, a reporter for Radio Tropikal, who claims to have been intimidated by BLTS agents the same year; the assault on journalist Jerry Larson Xavier, from Vant Bèf Info, who was allegedly a victim of a BIM agent in Tabarre on March 6, 2025, and who was also deprived of his work equipment. The most recent incident concerns Wikenson Isma, a reporter for Tripotay Haiti 509, who claims to have been mistreated on November 17, 2025, by EDUPOL agents in Delmas 75 while taking pictures, despite identifying himself as a journalist.
Given the recurrence of these situations, the CPP asks the HNP General Directorate to ensure rigorous follow-up of reported assault cases, to apply disciplinary sanctions where appropriate, and to provide material, moral, or symbolic reparations for the victims.
In conclusion, the collective reaffirms its willingness to collaborate with the HNP to improve the safety of information professionals and ensure more rigorous processing of complaints, with the aim of restoring a climate of trust conducive to the exercise of press freedom.
Gedeon Delva
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