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MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – A 19-year-old Haitian man who has accused six Uruguayanpeacekeepers for the U.N. of sexually abusing him in the poorCaribbean country on Thursday arrived at court to testify to thejudge investigating the case. The young man entered the courtroom in the afternoon. UruguayanJudge Alejandro Guido and Supreme Court spokesman Raul Oxandabaratearlier told The Associated Press that the man would testify duringa closed hearing. Guido declined to provide more information. But Oxandabarat saidthe testimony was part of the judicial investigation into theallegations. "It's not a penal trial but an inquiry to investigate alleged rapeof this young man in Haiti," the court spokesman said. Oxandabarat said justice officials had arranged for a translatorbecause the witness speaks Creole. He said a public lawyer was alsobeing provided because the young man's lawyers were not authorizedto practice law in Uruguay. Local media showed images of the young man in a suit and tie afterhe landed at Montevideo's airport Wednesday afternoon. He wasaccompanied by his mother, two lawyers and a Haitian foreignministry official. The AP is not identifying the man by name because of the sexualnature of the charges. Last year, the man alleged that he was sexually abused at a U.N.base by six Uruguayan marines who were serving in the U.N.peacekeeping mission in Haiti. One of the peacekeepers recorded therowdy scene on a cellphone, showing the accuser being pinned downon a mattress as a partially clothed marine simulated rape. The suspects and their lawyer initially called it a prank that gotout of hand, angering many Haitians who already had been demandinga departure by all U.N. peacekeepers. In a preliminary investigation, the United Nations and Uruguay'snavy determined that the man was not raped, but said peacekeepersbroke rules. Oxandabarat said the next steps in the case would depend on theyoung man's testimony. "The judge will listen to him and allow the different parties toquestion him again. Then, we'll see what happens," the spokesmansaid. The marines were sent back to Uruguay after the incident to Uruguayand held in prison for several months. They were released in late2011 pending the investigation and a military trial. Gen. Julio Halty, president of Uruguay's Supreme Military Tribunal,told the AP on Wednesday that the Haitian accuser would not bequestioned by a military court. He had said earlier that if themarines were convicted by the military court and sentenced to morejail time than they already served, they would go back behind bars. The 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti wasestablished by the U.N. Security Council in 2004 to providestability after a rebellion forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristideout of office and into exile. The U.N. force is unpopular with many Haitians. A cholera outbreakin October 2010 that was likely introduced by a battalion fromNepal further infuriated critics, touching off riots against thepeacekeeping contingent. The cholera outbreak has killed more than6,200 people since it surfaced, Haiti's Health Ministry says. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Lipstick Containers , China Empty Nail Polish Bottles, and more. For more , please visit Aluminum Screw Caps today!
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