Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that human rights defender Frantzo Joseph has been forced into hiding with his wife and young children, as a result of threats he received. Frantzo Joseph is the Coordinator of the Conseil Communautaire de Droits Humains de Grand Ravine - CCDH-GR (Grand Ravine Community Human Rights Council) and was appointed in 2007 to be the official representative of Grand Ravine to the National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (CNDDR). The CCDH-GR is a community group working in the Grand Ravine neighbourhood.

Further Information

Posted 10/01/2007 In the last week of December 2007, Frantzo Joseph was approached by local men who are known to him. The men said that they were seeking assistance from the CNDDR and that they wanted his help in providing a cover for their criminal activities. When he refused they threatened him and his family. As a result of this threat that puts them at serious risk, Frantzo Joseph is currently in hiding with his family.

Front Line believes that the aforementioned threats against Frantzo Joseph and his family are related to his legitimate and non-violent activities in the defence of human rights. Members of the CCDH-GR have been targeted in the past. Bruner Esterne, the previous Coordinator of the CCDH-GR was shot dead by three unknown individuals on 21 September 2006. It is believed that the murder of Bruner Esterne is linked to the fact that he was an eyewitness to killings committed by members of an armed gang in August 2005.