Haiti: Malya Villard Apollon's Home Attacked by Group of Armed Men

The attack took place in the early hours of 23 August 2013, at 1.30 am. The armed men fired shots at the gate of Malya Villard Apollon's home, damaging the gate and the doorbell.

(YORK, UK) - On 23 August 2013, human rights defender Ms Malya Villard Apollon's home was attacked by a group of armed men, who fired gunshots at the gate.

Malya Villard Apollon is the co-director of the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV), a grassroots women's organisation working in the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince to prevent and redress sexual assault, care for survivors and build a movement for human rights in Haiti.

The attack took place in the early hours of 23 August 2013, at 1.30 am. The armed men fired shots at the gate of Malya Villard Apollon's home, damaging the gate and the doorbell. The human rights defender called the police who rushed to her home, but by the time they arrived the group had fled the scene.

However, the armed men returned shortly thereafter, and upon seeing the police they opened fire on them. Despite chasing the attackers, the police were unable to apprehend them.

This attack is the latest in a series of escalating threats and acts of intimidation against Malya Villard Apollon and other members of KOFAVIV. While they have received threats for a number of years, threats and acts of intimidation have intensified since Malya Villard Apollon was nominated as one of the CNN Heroes in 2012. Her dog has been poisoned, unknown individuals have visited her home and office inquiring about her whereabouts, and both Malya Villard Apollon's as well as KOFAVIV co-director Marie Eramithe Delva's children have been followed and have been the subject of attempted kidnappings.

William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com is deeply concerned about the armed attack against Malya Villard Apollon's home and the escalating threats against her, and fears for her safety, that of her family and of other KOFAVIV members. The armed attack against her home is of particular concern given that the assailants returned to the scene, which suggests that they may have had the intention of forcefully entering her home and harming her.

“

President Michel Joseph Martelly
Palais National
Rue Magny,
Port-au-Prince,
Haiti

Your Excellency,

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com.

On 23 August 2013, the home of human rights defender Ms Malya Villard Apollon was attacked by a group of armed men, who fired gunshots at the gate. Malya Villard Apollon is the co-director of the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV), a grassroots women's organisation working in the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince to prevent and redress sexual assault, care for survivors and build a movement for human rights in Haiti.

The attack took place in the early hours of 23 August 2013, at 1.30 am. The armed men fired gunshots at the gate of Malya Villard Apollon's home, damaging the gate and the doorbell. The human rights defender called the police who rushed to her home, but by the time they arrived the group had fled the scene. However, the armed men returned shortly thereafter, and upon seeing the police they fired at them. Despite chasing the attackers, the police was unable to apprehend them.

I am deeply concerned about the armed attack against Malya Villard Apollon's home and the escalating threats against her, and fear for her safety, that of her family and of other KOFAVIV members. The armed attack against her home is of particular concern given that the assailants returned to the scene, which suggests that they may have had the intention of forcefully entering her home and harming her.

I urge the authorities in Haiti to:

1. Carry out an immediate, thorough and effective investigation into the armed attack against the home of Malya Villard Apollon as well as the numerous previous instances of threats and intimidation, with a view to publishing the results and bringing the perpetrators to justice in accordance with international standards;

2. Take urgent measures to ensure the safety of Malya Villard Apollon, her family as well as other members of KOFAVIV who may be at risk as a result of their human rights work;

3. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in Haiti are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including threats of physical harm.

Yours sincerely,

William Nicholas Gomes
Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com
Twitter@wnicholasgomes
www.williamnicholasgomes.com

”

Salem-News.com Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes is a Bangladeshi journalist, human rights activist and author was born on 25 December, 1985 in Dhaka. As an investigative journalist he wrote widely for leading European and Asian media outlets.

He is also active in advocating for free and independent media and journalists’ rights, and is part of the free media movement, Global Independent Media Center – an activist media network for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. He worked for Italian news agency Asianews.it from year 2009 to 2011, on that time he was accredited as a free lance journalist by the press information department of Bangladesh. During this time he has reported a notable numbers of reports for the news agency which were translated into Chinese and Italian and quoted by notable number of new outlets all over the world.He, ideologically, identifies himself deeply attached with anarchism. His political views are often characterized as “leftist” or “left-wing,” and he has described himself as an individualist anarchist.