Sedition Acts

Haitian censorship and anti-treason laws

The **Sedition Acts** are a series of Haitian laws that aim to illegalize certain behaviors deemed as seditious or treasonous against the Haitian government or against the moral principles of Haiti. The current Sedition Acts consists of five pieces of legislation and a National Order.

The first Sedition Act was passed in 1971, and is currently in effect. The original Sedition Act of 1971, aimed to target any behaviors that were deemed a threat to national security and protect the rights of Voodoo practitioners. It was proposed by Jackson LeBlanc during the period of the First Haitian Republic with the aim of preventing a counter coup against the newly formed Mathieu government by supporters of Duvalier and by pro-democacy groups. It was amended by the Sedition Act of 1999, which aimed to futher increase the scope of the law by making all criticisms of the government illegal. That law however was quickly scrapped and replaced by the Sedition Act of 2005, which along with repealing the 1999 act, aimed to modernize the definition of sedition and moderate the enforcement of the law. In 2013, the Internet Sedition and and Crime Prevention Act and updated the 1971 act to the changes in the age of the internet.

The Sedition Acts remain controversial in Haiti, with many calling for the laws to be either heavily changed or repealed altogether. A bill currently on the floor of the Haitian Parliament would repeal the entire series of laws.

## Sedition Acts

### Sedition Act of 1971

The **Sedition Act of 1971** is a Haitian law that prohibits any behavior that would be “detrimental to the national security, integrity, and moral values of Haiti.” The law primarily applies to the creation, distribution, promotion, or reproduction of materials that are considered seditious, illegal, or promotes antigovernmental sentiments. The law also bans any form of media or public gatherings that would be considered offensive to the community, which includes antigovernmental protests and demonstrations. The law also bans discrimination and hate speech and hate crimes against practitioners of Haitian Voodoo or Hoodoo. The law stipulates punishments for these activities which ranges from a fine of $500,000 to lifetime imprisonment.

The law empowers the National Police to conduct searches, seizures, and arrests for even suspicions of committing a crime that could be considered as an act of sedition. It created the Office of National Sovereignty and the Office for the Defense of Morality.

It was enacted on April 29, 1971 following the takeover of the Haitian state by the Haitian National Congress (KND). The law was quickly passed through the Provisional Haitian Parliament in 1971 to keep order in the country and prevent a counter coup against the new government. The law was subsequently adopted by the Government of Haiti in 1973 after the Haitian Republic was officially declared. In recent years, the law has been the subject of much criticism from the public. Protests against the law have occurred in the 1990s and more recently in the mid-2010s and 2020s. The second round of protests from January 5 to March 26, 2020 led to the passage of the Anti-Riot Act with the second round of protests leading the KND-PUSD to reconsider the need for the law. A bill in the Haitian Parliament that would repeal the bill is being debated on.

### National Order 4373

Main article: National Order 4373
National Order 4373 is an executive order declared on April 21, 1973 making the Sedition Act of 1971 the law of Haiti after the end of the transitional government from 1971 to 1973. The order codified the 1971 act into the law.

### Sedition Act of 1999

The **Sedition Act of 1999** was the first amendming law to the 1971 act. The law banned any criticms of the Mathieu family or of the Haitian National Congress. Any act that was considered critical of the government was labeled as treasonous, and could be met with harsh punishments from life in prison to public execution. The law was introduced by Jackson LeBlanc on June 3, 1999 and passed in the Haitian Parliament on June 22, 1999. It was signed into law by Louis Mathieu on November 24, 1999 and was in effect until 2005, when it was repealed by the 2005 Sedition Act. The law was repealed due to large public backlash and led to the decline of Jackson LeBlanc's political career as well as the downfall of many who supported the law.

### Sedition Act of 2005

The **Sedition Act of 2005** is the second amending law to the 1971 act. The law called for the mass surveillance of the internet to prevent online misinformation and antigovernmental rhetoric. It also led to the creation of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), who are responsible for surveillance.

### Internet Sedition and Crime Prevention Act (2013)

The **Internet Sedition and Crime Prevention Act** is the third amendment to the 1971 act. The 2013 adds to the powers given to the NIA by the 2005 act.

### Anti-Riot Act (2020)

Main articles: Protests against the Sedition Act, 2020 Anti-Sedition Act protests, and Feburary 13 Sedition Act Protests
Large scale protests against the law and calls for it to be repealed came to a head in 2020. On February 13, 2020, 100,000 people protested in Port-au-Prince. The protests were met with a brutal crackdown by the National Police Agency and the arrest of 5,000 people in connection with the protests. The Haitian Government responded with a swift shutdown of outside media and a widespread effort to censor any coverage of the protests. Following the protests, the Parliament passed the Anti-Riot Act, which places heavy restrictions on the format, shape, and size of protests in the country. The official reasoning for the law was public health due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however opposition leaders and human rights groups believe that the law is another form of political repression.

The law bans any gatherings of over 50 people in a public spaces, and makes it illegal to wear anything that covers up a person's identity. In addition, the law gives the Police the authority to arrest anyone suspected of committing a crime such as looting, disrupting the peace, or risking public safety.

## Criticisms and efforts to repeal

In 2023, after the legalization of the Hope and Change party, calls grew in Haiti to repeal the law These calls were amplified by the United States and many western countries with the aim of a more democratic Haitian state. An open forum was held on November 27th to discuss the possible repeal of the act.