Search at the Home of the Mayor of Port-au-Prince: Ralph Youri Chevry Writes to the CPT
, December 19, 2025 —The case opposing the Mayor of Port-au-Prince, Ralph Youri Chevry, to the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) and the government commissioner is taking a major institutional turn.
By Jean Wesley Pierre · Port-au-Prince · · 3 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
Port-au-Prince, December 19, 2025 —The case opposing the Mayor of Port-au-Prince, Ralph Youri Chevry, to the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) and the government commissioner is taking a major institutional turn.
One week after the search of his home, the president of the communal commission of Port-au-Prince, Ralph Youri Chevry, sent a letter to the transitional presidential council to denounce the serious acts he was subjected to.
Chevry also brought a direct summons before the Port-au-Prince Court of First Instance against Justin Marc, director of the DCPJ. The grievances cited are serious: home invasion, damage, infringement of individual liberty, alleged violence against an employee, death of a pet, and a police intervention supposedly conducted without a judicial warrant.
The CPT's Statement, a Strong Political Signal
The council-president, Fritz Alphonse Jean, confirmed the official correspondence from the capital's mayor, denouncing an « irregular police intervention ».
In response, Fritz Alphonse Jean wrote to the Keeper of the Seals of the Republic to request clarification on this search, deemed tendentious. With this step, he is not merely relaying a complaint: he is engaging the political responsibility of the executive and the security apparatus, calling the intervention an « odious act ».
"His dog shot, the property gate broken down characterize the violence of the action perpetrated that day against the city's first citizen." This public stance, rare at this level of the State, gives the case an institutional scope that now goes beyond a simple dispute between a local authority official and the judicial police. The CPT now places this matter at the heart of the national debate on the respect for the rule of law. Contradictory Versions According to an internal source within the DCPJ, relayed by several media outlets, three firearms and a drone were reportedly seized during the search. However, to date, no official communication from the police or the public prosecutor's office has clarified the legal basis for the intervention, nor the offenses potentially attributed to the communal magistrate. Nevertheless, the DCPJ summoned the mayor for Monday, December 22, 2025. Already, the mayor had denounced the persecution of his home as a political act, while announcing that he had initiated legal proceedings against the institution. From Security to Legality… The Red Line in Question Ralph Youri Chevry's case illustrates a central tension in current governance: how to reconcile the security imperative with strict adherence to legal procedures? Certainly, the Mayor of Port-au-Prince is a public official and a communal magistrate, subject to the law like any citizen. But this status in no way nullifies his constitutional rights, particularly the inviolability of the home and the procedural guarantees provided by law. In a context where the police are called upon to act firmly against insecurity, any operation conducted outside the legal framework, if proven, undermines the very credibility of the State and fuels widespread distrust towards institutions. This case thus constitutes a decisive test for the rule of law in Haiti, during a transitional period already marked by institutional fragility. It imposes an obligation of transparency, rigor, and accountability on judicial and security authorities. In the absence of rapid and credible clarifications, the case risks becoming an additional symbol of the governance crisis and fueling suspicions of political instrumentalization of security forces. As of December 19, 2025, one certainty stands out: only an independent judicial procedure, respectful of the law and conducted with full transparency, will prevent this matter from further eroding the already fragile trust between the State and citizens.
"His dog shot, the property gate broken down characterize the violence of the action perpetrated that day against the city's first citizen." This public stance, rare at this level of the State, gives the case an institutional scope that now goes beyond a simple dispute between a local authority official and the judicial police. The CPT now places this matter at the heart of the national debate on the respect for the rule of law. Contradictory Versions According to an internal source within the DCPJ, relayed by several media outlets, three firearms and a drone were reportedly seized during the search. However, to date, no official communication from the police or the public prosecutor's office has clarified the legal basis for the intervention, nor the offenses potentially attributed to the communal magistrate. Nevertheless, the DCPJ summoned the mayor for Monday, December 22, 2025. Already, the mayor had denounced the persecution of his home as a political act, while announcing that he had initiated legal proceedings against the institution. From Security to Legality… The Red Line in Question Ralph Youri Chevry's case illustrates a central tension in current governance: how to reconcile the security imperative with strict adherence to legal procedures? Certainly, the Mayor of Port-au-Prince is a public official and a communal magistrate, subject to the law like any citizen. But this status in no way nullifies his constitutional rights, particularly the inviolability of the home and the procedural guarantees provided by law. In a context where the police are called upon to act firmly against insecurity, any operation conducted outside the legal framework, if proven, undermines the very credibility of the State and fuels widespread distrust towards institutions. This case thus constitutes a decisive test for the rule of law in Haiti, during a transitional period already marked by institutional fragility. It imposes an obligation of transparency, rigor, and accountability on judicial and security authorities. In the absence of rapid and credible clarifications, the case risks becoming an additional symbol of the governance crisis and fueling suspicions of political instrumentalization of security forces. As of December 19, 2025, one certainty stands out: only an independent judicial procedure, respectful of the law and conducted with full transparency, will prevent this matter from further eroding the already fragile trust between the State and citizens.
