Guyler C. Delva, president of Association Haitian Journalists and a Reuters correspondent, was beaten October 3, 2005 at the Palace of Justice (Supreme Court) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti by an American bodyguard of coup-President Boniface Alexandre. The beating took place between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. Haiti time. Two other Haitian journalists were reportedly beaten about the same time.
Presidential security head, Vladimir Champagne, claimed that the journalists who were beaten had arrived late to the event. The bodyguards were reported to have been arranged by the U.S. State Department and were members of DynCorp International of Irving, Texas.
The coup government has been actively repressing the free press in Haiti. Recently, Haiti Information Project reporter Kevin Pina and AP camera operator Jean Restil were jailed for three days and released.
Coup Prime Minister Gerard Latortue had threatened Guyler Delva in the past with violence. Several journalist have been slain during the past couple of years, most notably by Abdias Jean who was assassinated in January by Haiti's national police (PNH) when he had filmed the police committing another assassination.
