Journalists kidnapped, threatened with lynching as chaos worsens in Haiti

April 08, 2025 – Source: CPJ – 

The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about deteriorating media safety amid surging violence in Haiti, in which at least one journalist was kidnapped and two were almost lynched.

Roger Claudy Israël, owner of local radio station RC FM, and his brother were kidnapped in the central city of Mirebalais by Viv Ansanm gang members who threatened to execute their captives in an April 4 video.

Viv Ansanm, or Living Together in Creole, is an alliance of former rival gangs who joined forces in 2023 and took control of most of the capital Port-au-Prince. Gangs attacked Mirebalais on March 31, killed several people and freed some 500 prisoners, forcing thousands to flee, including a dozen journalists.

“We call on Roger Claudy Israël’s kidnappers to free him and his brother without delay and urge Haitian authorities to restore order so that journalists and other citizens can live free from fear,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “This senseless violence must end.”

Jean Christophe Collègue, who worked for Voice of America until it went off air in March, is missing after his Mirebalais home was burned down.

Two journalists told CPJ they were attacked during anti-government demonstrations in the capital’s Canapé Vert district.

“Journalists are targets right now,” said one reporter whose head, collarbone, and ankle were injured on April 2.  “The police, the gangs, and the people are all against us,” he said on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

Juan Martínez d’Aubuisson, who specializes in reporting on conflict zones and gangs, told CPJ that he was beaten on March 19 and almost lynched by a mob wielding machetes and shouting, “We don’t want journalists or foreigners.”

“People are angry and desperate,” said the award-winning El Salvadorian journalist and writer, who was saved by a protester, escaped on a motorcycle, and left Haiti.

“I have never seen anything like it. One false move and you can be turned into ashes,” he said, after describing seeing bodies burned in the streets.

Haiti topped CPJ’s 2024 Global Impunity Index, which ranks nations where journalists’ killers are most likely to go free.

Journalists kidnapped, threatened with lynching as chaos worsens in Haiti