MIAMI (AP) — The Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, an influential Haitian Roman Catholic priest who was once jailed in Haiti for his political activities and fought for his countrymen's rights in the U.S., died Wednesday. He was 62.
He died in a Miami-area hospital, said immigration attorney Ira Kurzban, who was a longtime friend. Jean-Juste's brother, Kernst, said he died of complications from a stroke and a lung problem.
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Jean-Juste returned to Haiti in the early 1990s and was a prominent supporter of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He was often considered the Martin Luther King Jr. of Haiti in fighting for civil rights, giving impassioned sermons as an advocate for the poor.
After Aristide left the country during a bloody coup in 2004, the U.S.-backed interim government jailed Jean-Juste in connection with the killing of a prominent Haitian journalist and poet. International human rights groups maintained the charges were politically motivated, and eventually the charges were dropped.
While in prison, the priest's supporters tried to register him as a presidential candidate for the 2006 elections, but authorities barred his candidacy because he was in jail. Later that year, Haitian officials allowed Jean-Juste to be released from jail and return to the U.S. to be treated for leukemia.
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