World

Detained-then-freed Haitian lawyer charges his detention after traffic stop was 'political'

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Attorney Andre Michel is flanked by two Haitian senators as he is taken away from the courthouse to a waiting vehicle, in Port-au-Prince Haiti, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Supporters of Michel who has brought corruption cases against Haiti’s government whisked him away from a courthouse Wednesday as he awaited a hearing after being detained by police. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) (The Associated Press)

Engulfed in a cloud of tear gas, a student is briefly detained by police during a protest in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Supporters of an opposition figure who has brought corruption cases against Haiti's government protested against his arrest while others whisked him away from the courthouse as a judge prepared to serve an order that he be transferred to the state penitentiary. Prosecutors did not say publicly why Michel was arrested. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) (The Associated Press)

A supporter of an opposition figure who has brought corruption cases against Haiti's government throws rocks at police during a protest outside a courthouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Supporters of attorney Andre Michel, who has brought corruption cases against Haiti's government, protested against his arrest while others whisked him away from the courthouse as a judge prepared to serve an order that he be transferred to the state penitentiary. Prosecutors did not say publicly why Michel was arrested. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) (The Associated Press)

An opposition figure whose overnight detention sparked violent protests in Haiti's capital says authorities charged him with disobeying police authority.

Andre Michel says police charged him with that after he told officers they couldn't search his car after a traffic stop. He says he told them the car could only be searched by a judge.

Michel is a lawyer who has brought corruption cases against the government and he contends he was stopped because he's an open critic of President Michel Martelly.

Michel's detention prompted dozens of his supporters to shut down parts of Port-au-Prince with fiery barricades Wednesday. Some whisked him out of the courthouse just as a judge was about to order him to jail.

Haiti's government condemned Michel's removal from the courthouse.

Michel made the remarks Thursday.