Gérard Jean-Juste (7 February 1946 – 27 May 2009) was a Haitian Catholic priest who served as rector of Saint Claire's Church for the Poor in Port-au-Prince.
He was also a liberation theologian and a supporter of the Fanmi Lavalas political party, as well as heading the Miami, Florida-based Haitian Refugee Center from 1977 to 1990.
[2] As part of his work with the organization, Jean-Juste picketed Miami's Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy, calling him a racist for failing to advocate on behalf of refugees.
[4] He also found himself in trouble with church hierarchy for conducting Catholic funeral services for refugees who had drowned at sea regardless of their religious background.
[6] In July 2005, Jean-Juste and Fanmi Lavalas were accused by Haitian state media of involvement in the death of journalist Jacques Roche.
Roche, a columnist for Le Matin had been kidnapped on 10 July, held for ransom, and "tortured with extreme cruelty" before being found dead four days later.
[7] When attending Roche's funeral on 21 July, Jean-Juste was attacked by a group of mourners and arrested; he was then held without charges on suspicion of involvement in the murder.
[2] However, electoral authorities ruled that Jean-Juste could not be properly registered as a candidate due to his incarceration, prompting Fanmi Lavalas to threaten to boycott the poll.
[6] In late December 2005, Paul Farmer, a U.S. physician who co-founded Partners in Health, examined Jean-Juste and confirmed that he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, telling a reporter that "Father Gerry's in serious trouble if he isn't released from jail to receive proper medical attention in the United States.