Complaints follow Haiti acquittal

Both Joanis and Chamblain were convicted of the murder in absentia

The former paramilitary leader Louis-Jodel Chamblain has been acquitted of murder at a retrial in Haiti.

Mr Chamblain was the second-in-command of one of the rebel groups which forced the fall of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide earlier this year.

He was charged with the 1993 murder of Antoine Izmery, a former justice minister under Mr Aristide.

The US and human rights groups have expressed alarm at the verdict - which came after a brief overnight trial.

Mr Chamblain and his co-defendant, a former police chief Jackson Joanis, were found not guilty by a 12-member jury in a trial that ran from late Monday until early on Tuesday morning.

Both have been remanded in custody to face other charges.

The US state department said it was "deeply concerned".

"We deeply regret the haste with which their cases were brought to retrial, resulting in procedural deficiencies that call into question the integrity of the process," said spokesman Adam Ereli.

This is a very sad record in the history of Haiti Amnesty International

A Haitian human rights group told the Associated Press news agency that eight witnesses were called by the prosecution, but only one turned up in court, saying he knew nothing about the case.

Viles Alizar, spokesman for the National Coalition of Haitian Rights, added that the defence produced two witnesses, but they offered few details about the case.

Human rights group Amnesty International called the trial a "mockery of justice" - saying "false" witnesses had been called to testify and there had been no proper preparation.

It said key witnesses were "in hiding for fear for their lives".

"This is a very sad record in the history of Haiti," it said.

Convicted in absentia

Mr Chamblain was co-leader of the Revolutionary Front for Haitian Advancement and Progress - known as Fraph after its initials in French - which committed human rights abuses under military rule at the beginning of the 1990s.

Both he and Mr Joanis escaped abroad with the restoration of Mr Aristide to power in 1994. They were convicted in absentia of the murder of Izmery in 1995.

Mr Chamblain turned himself in to authorities last April, following the overthrow of Mr Aristide in February.

Under Haitian law, those convicted in absentia are entitled to a retrial once they come forward to judicial authorities.

Mr Chamblain's lawyer, Stanley Gaston, told AP that his client was expected to return to court in a month's time.