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Haitian Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Taking an American Woman Hostage in Haiti in May 2006

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Attly Hans, a Haitian man

who previously pled guilty to hostage-taking, was sentenced to 14 years in

prison today by the Honorable James Robertson in the U.S. District Court

for the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor and

Kenneth L. Wainstein Assistant Attorney General for the Justice

Department's National Security Division. Hans, 21, of Haiti, pleaded guilty

on July 26, 2006, to taking hostage in Haiti a woman who is a U.S. citizen

in May 2006. The defendant was arrested in late May in Haiti and brought to

the United States to face prosecution.

"The kidnapping and hostage-taking of American citizens overseas is a

cowardly and dangerous crime that the Department of Justice will forever

investigate and prosecute aggressively," stated U.S. Attorney Taylor.

"Today's 14-year prison sentence imposed by the Court should make those who

think about committing such frightening acts of terror upon innocent

victims think twice before doing so."

"This case demonstrates our resolve to prosecute and punish those who

take our people hostage overseas. It also highlights the importance of

domestic and international law enforcement cooperation in the conduct of

these investigations," said Assistant Attorney General Kennth L. Wainstein.

According to the government's evidence, on May 10, 2006, the American

woman victim had been visiting relatives in Haiti and was traveling between

the cities of Carrefour and Port au Prince, riding in a truck with a

relative. The ordeal began for the woman when a car coming from the

opposite direction pulled in front of them, blocking the road. Armed men

alighted from the car and took the victim hostage, leaving her companion on

the roadside. The hostage-takers threatened her and demanded ransom for her

release. She was taken to a deserted area and pushed into a shallow grave

to further intimidate her. Among other threats, the hostage-takers

contacted relatives of the woman and told them that if they did not pay a

large sum of money, they would kill the woman and dump her in a garbage

pail.

The woman had friends and relatives in the city of Leogane, Haiti. They

heard that she had been kidnapped and that her vehicle was carjacked. They

were able to spot her vehicle on a street in Leogane and decided to keep an

eye on it. Citizens from the area were watching the vehicle on May 15 when

three men came to take possession of the vehicle. One of these men was

defendant Attly Hans. The citizens of Leogane were able to detain the three

men and notify the authorities, who reported to the scene and arrested

defendant Hans.

The other hostage-takers still holding the woman apparently became

apprehensive, and freed the woman later in the day on May 15, 2006. Over

the five days that the woman was held, ransom of over $7,200 was paid to

the hostage-takers.

In announcing today's sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor and Assistant

Attorney General Wainstein praised the hard work of the FBI's

Extraterritorial Squad, in particular lead case agents Carlos Monero and

Oscar Montoto, the Evidence Response Team, and the FBI Miami Special

Weapons and Tactics Squad, all based in Miami, FBI Legal Attache and ALAT

based in Santo Domingo,

Dominican Republic, the Haitian National Police and the United Nations

Civil Police, the Haitian Ministry of Justice, the ICE Office in Santo

Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the staff of the U.S. Embassy in Port au

Prince, Haiti. Furthermore, they acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S.

Attorney Jeanne M. Hauch and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the

Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division of the

Department of Justice.