瑞士冻结前海地独裁者几百万美元

Switzerland has used a new law to block millions of dollars held by former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier in Swiss bank accounts.

The law went into effect Tuesday. It was prompted at least in part by a legal battle over Mr. Duvalier's allegedly embezzled funds and is designed to make it easier for Swiss authorities to return illegally obtained funds to their country of origin.

The Swiss foreign ministry says the legislation governs the "freezing, forfeiture and restitution" of the assets of what it calls "politically exposed" people. It enables Swiss authorities to confiscate assets clearly of illicit origin even when the person holding them has not been convicted in criminal proceedings in the country seeking restitution.

Mr. Duvalier has about $6 million in Swiss bank accounts. The money was frozen after he was ousted in a uprising in 1986.

The former Haitian leader has been charged in Haiti with theft and misappropriation of funds during his 15-year rule. Haitian authorities filed the charges after Mr. Duvalier's unexpected return from exile last month. He is also being sued by several Haitians for torture and other crimes against humanity.

瑞士公司使用一条新法律冻结前海地独裁者“娃娃医生”杜瓦利埃在瑞士银行帐户中的几百万美元。

这条法律在星期二生效。制定这条法律的部分原因是针对杜瓦利埃涉嫌挪用公款而引起的一场法律诉讼。这条法律也使得瑞士当局更容易的把非法获得的资金归还给资金来源国。

瑞士外交部说，这条法律负责冻结，没收和归还所谓的“政治公众人物”的资产。这条法律可以使得瑞士当局甚至可以在资产持有人在他们的国家寻求归还资金的刑事诉讼中未被定罪的情况下，没收明确的非法来源的资产。

杜瓦利埃在瑞士银行帐户中有大约600万美元，这些钱在1986年人民起义推翻他以后被冻结。

这位前海地领导人在海地被指控在他的15年统治期间，偷窃和侵吞资金。海地当局在杜瓦利埃上个月突然结束流亡返回海地之后，对他提出了控诉。还有几名海地人起诉他使用酷刑，并犯有其他反人类罪行。