The World - News from July 12, 1988

Lafontant Joseph, a prominent Haitian lawyer and human rights activist, was found beaten and stabbed to death in a jeep near the Port-au-Prince airport, police said. Paul Latortue, a former senatorial candidate who lives in exile in Puerto Rico, blamed the murder on Haiti’s military strongman, Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy. Joseph founded the Center of Education for Human Rights in 1986 and was a co-founder of the League of Human Rights. In 1980, under dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, he was arrested, jailed and tortured for his outspoken criticism of the regime.