2 journalists killed in Haiti: PMA & project partners send condolences

Two journalists from Haiti, Tayson Latigue and Frantzsen Charles, were killed in a district within Port-au-Prince on 13 September where they were reporting on the area’s high levels of violence. A 17-year-old girl had been murdered in the district the day before. They were there working alongside five other journalists who managed to escape the violence. Mr. Latigue and Mr. Charles were both shot dead and then their bodies were burned.

Mr. Latigue and Mr. Charles had both attended the Public Media Alliance’s (PMA)’s workshop, “Protecting journalists in Haiti and confronting dis- and misinformation during a pandemic” earlier this year. The project was implemented by PMA and our local partners Panos Caribbean, with input from the Association Nationale des Medias en Lignes (AHML) and Solidarite des femmes haitiennes journalistes (SOFEHJ) and funding from UNESCO.

The Public Media Alliance and our partners send our condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and the entire media industry in Haiti during this difficult time.

The following statements are from the project leads:

“This is absolutely devastating and a stark reminder of the threats that journalists – in Haiti and across the world – face doing their job. Journalists perform a vital role – exposing atrocities and abuses of power, providing information to citizens, and shining a light back on society. This is what Tayson and Frantzsen were both doing when they were killed. No journalist should ever pay for the work they do with their life. Our thoughts go out to their families, friends, colleagues, and indeed the wider journalist community in Haiti, during what must be a very difficult time. We offer our support to them, as they continue to undertake their critical role, which has never been so important. We can only hope there will be no impunity for the perpetrators of this act of violence.”

Jas Chandler, PMA Projects and Memberships Manager

“We are sorry for the loss of these young lives, young journalists engaged in the production of information. We cannot even hope that justice will be done to them as it has been to other journalists who have fallen in the same conditions, ensuring that the public is informed. This is very regrettable.”

Jean Claude Louis, Panos Caribbean Coordinator

“I strongly condemn the fact that journalists are murdered in the exercise of their profession. This is a violation of the rights and freedoms of journalists and media to inform. Indeed, Frantzsen Charles and Tayson Latigue 2 journalists missing in Cité Soleil participated in March 2022 in a workshop of the association the Haitian Association of Online Media (AHML) on media coverage and risk management in an environment of conflict or protest funded by Public Media Alliance (PMA) and UNESCO in Haiti. These cases of disappearance are too many. As President of the AHML, I demand an investigation as soon as possible from the competent judicial and police authorities.”

Godson Lubrun, President of AHML

Read more: Joint press release: UNESCO and OHCRHR condemn the murder of journalists Tayson Latigue and Frantzsen Charles in Cité Soleil and call for the protection of journalists (UN – French)