Miami Herald Dec 29, 2005
Doctor: Jailed priest has developed leukemia
A Harvard doctor said Father Gerard Jean-Juste, a
former Miami activist now in jail in Haiti, has
leukemia and needs immediate treatment.
Doctor: Jailed priest has developed leukemia
A Harvard doctor said Father Gerard Jean-Juste, a
former Miami activist now in jail in Haiti, has
leukemia and needs immediate treatment.
BY JOE MOZINGO
jmozingo@MiamiHerald.com
Gerard Jean-Juste, a Haitian priest whose continued
imprisonment in Port-au-Prince has become a cause
célebre for political allies and human-rights
advocates, has developed an early stage of leukemia,
according to a prominent U.S. physician who runs
hospitals in Haiti.
Dr. Paul Farmer, a friend and supporter of Jean-Juste,
says the jailed priest has chronic lymphocytic
leukemia (CLL), a form of the blood and marrow disease
that progresses slowly but can develop into a more
virulent strain of cancer.
In several e-mails and a telephone interview from
Rwanda, where he is working this week, Farmer
explained that he examined Jean-Juste without guards'
knowledge on Dec. 23. He drew blood and brought it to
Miami, where it was analyzed by a University of Miami
hematologist.
''I can assure you he has leukemia,'' Farmer wrote to
The Miami Herald on Wednesday.
Jean-Juste, known as ''Father Gerry'' when he lived in
Miami and led the nation's most powerful Haitian
rights group, was arrested July 21 for alleged
involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Haitian
journalist Jacques Roche.
He and his supporters vehemently deny the allegations.
Many observers have expressed concerns that his
detention is simply a move to silence Jean-Juste.
Amnesty International calls him a ''prisoner of
conscience'' and 42 members of the U.S. Congress
signed a letter demanding his release.
Since an armed rebellion ousted President JeanBertrand
Aristide in February 2004, Jean-Juste has become a
potent critic of the U.S.-backed transitional
government. Police arrested him in Oct. 2004 for
inciting violence, but he was released seven weeks
later after a judge found the allegation baseless.
Many of the urban poor see Jean-Juste as a natural
successor to Aristide, a former slum priest himself,
and his Lavalas political movement.
After Jean-Juste's second arrest on July 21, Lavalas
leaders tried to register him as a presidential
candidate for elections tentatively scheduled for next
month. But the electoral council rejected the
application because the imprisoned Jean-Juste did not
show up to register in person.
Earlier this month, more than 1,000 people marched
through Miami to protest his incarceration.
''It's an outrage,'' said Steve Forester, a Miami
attorney who has been organizing the campaign to free
Jean-Juste. ``He's a nonviolent priest. He's a
prisoner of conscience. And if the Bush administration
wanted him out, they'd get him out.''
``This is about saving his life.''
Farmer, a Harvard professor and expert in infectious
diseases, wrote that ``Father Gerry's in serious
trouble if he isn't released from jail for proper
work-up in the States.''
He said the priest, at the very least, needs a CT scan
and a bone marrow biopsy -- procedures Jean-Juste does
not trust doctors commissioned by the Haitian
government to perform.
Farmer said the University of Miami blood specialist
told him that the cancer is progressing rapidly and
could turn into a more virulent form of leukemia.
Because of the unorthodox circumstances in which the
blood was drawn, Farmer said the hematologist did not
want to be named.
Their findings support those of another U.S. doctor,
John Carroll, who examined Jean-Juste earlier in the
month and reported finding enlarged lymph nodes and
abnormal white blood cell counts.
Haitian officials have countered that their own
doctors examined Jean-Juste and found no sign of
cancer, according to The Associated Press. A
government spokesman could not be reached for comment
Wednesday.
Farmer said the cancer itself is not likely an
immediate threat to Jean-Juste's life, but because it
weakens his immune system, an infection could be
fatal.
jmozingo@MiamiHerald.com
Gerard Jean-Juste, a Haitian priest whose continued
imprisonment in Port-au-Prince has become a cause
célebre for political allies and human-rights
advocates, has developed an early stage of leukemia,
according to a prominent U.S. physician who runs
hospitals in Haiti.
Dr. Paul Farmer, a friend and supporter of Jean-Juste,
says the jailed priest has chronic lymphocytic
leukemia (CLL), a form of the blood and marrow disease
that progresses slowly but can develop into a more
virulent strain of cancer.
In several e-mails and a telephone interview from
Rwanda, where he is working this week, Farmer
explained that he examined Jean-Juste without guards'
knowledge on Dec. 23. He drew blood and brought it to
Miami, where it was analyzed by a University of Miami
hematologist.
''I can assure you he has leukemia,'' Farmer wrote to
The Miami Herald on Wednesday.
Jean-Juste, known as ''Father Gerry'' when he lived in
Miami and led the nation's most powerful Haitian
rights group, was arrested July 21 for alleged
involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Haitian
journalist Jacques Roche.
He and his supporters vehemently deny the allegations.
Many observers have expressed concerns that his
detention is simply a move to silence Jean-Juste.
Amnesty International calls him a ''prisoner of
conscience'' and 42 members of the U.S. Congress
signed a letter demanding his release.
Since an armed rebellion ousted President JeanBertrand
Aristide in February 2004, Jean-Juste has become a
potent critic of the U.S.-backed transitional
government. Police arrested him in Oct. 2004 for
inciting violence, but he was released seven weeks
later after a judge found the allegation baseless.
Many of the urban poor see Jean-Juste as a natural
successor to Aristide, a former slum priest himself,
and his Lavalas political movement.
After Jean-Juste's second arrest on July 21, Lavalas
leaders tried to register him as a presidential
candidate for elections tentatively scheduled for next
month. But the electoral council rejected the
application because the imprisoned Jean-Juste did not
show up to register in person.
Earlier this month, more than 1,000 people marched
through Miami to protest his incarceration.
''It's an outrage,'' said Steve Forester, a Miami
attorney who has been organizing the campaign to free
Jean-Juste. ``He's a nonviolent priest. He's a
prisoner of conscience. And if the Bush administration
wanted him out, they'd get him out.''
``This is about saving his life.''
Farmer, a Harvard professor and expert in infectious
diseases, wrote that ``Father Gerry's in serious
trouble if he isn't released from jail for proper
work-up in the States.''
He said the priest, at the very least, needs a CT scan
and a bone marrow biopsy -- procedures Jean-Juste does
not trust doctors commissioned by the Haitian
government to perform.
Farmer said the University of Miami blood specialist
told him that the cancer is progressing rapidly and
could turn into a more virulent form of leukemia.
Because of the unorthodox circumstances in which the
blood was drawn, Farmer said the hematologist did not
want to be named.
Their findings support those of another U.S. doctor,
John Carroll, who examined Jean-Juste earlier in the
month and reported finding enlarged lymph nodes and
abnormal white blood cell counts.
Haitian officials have countered that their own
doctors examined Jean-Juste and found no sign of
cancer, according to The Associated Press. A
government spokesman could not be reached for comment
Wednesday.
Farmer said the cancer itself is not likely an
immediate threat to Jean-Juste's life, but because it
weakens his immune system, an infection could be
fatal.