HAITI: Assassination attempt on Mr Ronel Telsyde, President of the Haitian Bar Federation (FBH)
17 April 2026
The OIAD strongly condemns the assassination attempt against Mr Ronel Telsyde, President of the Haitian Bar Federation (FBH), on the afternoon of 13 April 2026 in Cap-Haïtien.
According to available information, Mr Ronel Telsyde was the target of an armed attack in which he was struck by several bullets. Telsyde is a prominent figure in the Haitian legal profession. He currently serves as President of the FBH and was also President of the Cap-Haïtien Bar Association between 2023 and 2025.
This highly serious attack, targeting a senior representative of the legal profession in Haiti, is a threatening message to all lawyers and is likely to have a deterrent effect on the independent practice of their profession. The information brought to the attention of the OIAD comes against a backdrop of a worrying deterioration in the security situation in Haiti, marked by increased vulnerability among those working in the judicial system.
The Observatory strongly condemns this attack and recalls that it constitutes a serious violation of the right to life and physical integrity, which are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 6).
The Observatory urges the Haitian authorities to conduct a thorough, independent and impartial investigation in order to identify the perpetrators of this assassination attempt and to shed full light on this crime.
The Observatory recalls that, in accordance with the Havana Principles on the Role of Lawyers (Articles 16 and 17), States have an obligation to guarantee the protection of lawyers in the performance of their duties.
