Jean Claude Duvalier left hospital

PORT-AU-PRINCE—Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was released from a private hospital where he was being treated for an undisclosed ailment, his longtime companion told AFP.
"He's going back home. He's doing much better," Duvalier's partner Veronique Roy told AFP.
Duvalier was admitted to the hospital last week shortly after receiving a court order limiting his mobility to the Haitian capital.
A close Duvalier associate told AFP however that the ailing former dictator was still not completely well.
"He is very sick," the friend said, asking not to be identified.
"He's going home because he can receive visits from his friends there," the associate said.
Duvalier's attorneys have said they would file an appeal challenging the restriction on his movements, which they decried as unfair and "arbitrary."
Duvalier made a surprise return to Haiti in January, prompting prosecutors to charge the 59-year-old with corruption, embezzlement of public funds and criminal association during his 15-year rule that ended in 1986.
Human rights activists and experts have accused Duvalier of returning to Haiti to prevent the confiscation of at least $5.7 million in frozen Swiss bank accounts.
The former dictator upon his return said he had come back to work for national unity.
He was preceded as Haiti's president by his father Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who also imposed authoritarian rule on the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Haiti seeks international help to prosecute Baby Doc

Haiti's government says it would need help from international jurists to prosecute former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier for alleged human rights crimes committed during his reign more than 25 years ago.

Justice Minister Andre Antoine told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Monday that Haiti's judges and prosecutors lack the training and experience necessary to handle a case of crimes against humanity.

"The magistrates are players in this game, it is like a football match: if they don't have a good manager, it will be difficult to win," Antoine said.

"We recognise that our justice system is weak and needs to be reinforced."

Former justice minister Jean-Joseph Exume told the commission that 16 individual cases had been filed against Duvalier in the court system starting immediately after his January 16 return to the country from 25 years of exile.

Exume said "concrete measures" would be necessary to protect plaintiffs and witnesses.

Antoine also said prosecution of Duvalier for human rights violations was of international importance.

"It is not only a Haitian matter, because convicting Duvalier would send a psychological message to humanity, to all the dictators or to those who are tempted by power (that) the law will not pardon them, that punishments await them," he said.

Duvalier ruled Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. His father, Francois, ruled as "president for life" from 1957 until his death.

The family reign has long been accused of widespread human rights violations including murders, torture and disappearances.

'Baby Doc' Duvalier hospitalized in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti --
                                                                                        Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has been hospitalized after having chest pains, his longtime companion and associates said Thursday without giving details about his condition.
Duvalier, who made a surprise return to the Caribbean nation in January, was admitted Wednesday night, companion Veronique Roy said as she took a break from visiting him at the Canape Vert hospital in the hills above downtown Port-au-Prince.
Roy declined to discuss his condition in detail. Asked if it was serious, she replied only, "I hope not."
Enzo Alcindor, a Duvalier family friend who was with them at the hospital, said doctors planned more tests but it wasn't clear yet when he would be released.
The 59-year-old former dictator made an abrupt return to Haiti in January after 25 years in exile and has appeared at times to move with difficulty, sparking speculation that he has been ill.
He has been living in a villa in the hills above Port-au-Prince under police guard as a judge investigates whether he can be charged with a long list of crimes, including corruption and torture, committed while he was "president for life" in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

There have been no restrictions on his movement and he has been spotted attending a jazz concert in Petionville and has been receiving a stream of visitors at the house.
Roy said a court clerk served an order on Duvalier confining him to the villa but they planned to appeal.
Duvalier was ousted in a popular uprising against what was widely considered a brutal and corrupt regime. He assumed power in 1971 at age 19 following the death of his notorious father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

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By TRENTON DANIEL
    ,03.24.11, 05:47 PM EDT