"A French investigative journalist who exposed sexual abuse accusations against Yves Jean-Bart, the former Haiti football federation president, is facing a defamation lawsuit by Jean-Bart, Human Rights Watch said today [March 21, 2023]. The journalist, Romain Molina, documented abuses against underage players in the Haiti Football Federation under Jean-Bart’s leadership and supported survivors in Haiti and worldwide. The journalist’s articles appeared in the Guardian and in YouTube videos. A hearing in the case is scheduled for March 27, 2023, in Paris.
‘Romain Molina’s goal was to speak up for the powerless against the powerful,’ said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. ‘It is deeply troubling to see Haitian football federation leaders using the French courts to try to stifle press freedom and silence survivors and journalists.’
In May 2020, Jean-Bart, then still-president of the Haitian Football Federation, filed a complaint with a Paris Court, accusing Molina of defamation. In November 2020, FIFA, the international football governing body, banned Jean-Bart for life following its own investigation into sexual abuse, calling the sexual exploitation under his rule in the federation ‘inexcusable, a disgrace.’"
