Uruguayan peacekeepers sent to prison for Haiti "rape" episode

A military court in Uruguay sent five navy officers, who were part of a UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti, to prison late Sunday for their participation in the alleged rape of an 18-year-old Haitian man.

The five, former members of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah), found themselves in jail just 48 hours after returning to Montevideo from Haiti after they were sacked as peacekeepers.

Washington Vigliola, the military judge, took testimony from the five officers before deciding on Sunday night to send them to prison, the Montevideo daily El País reported on Monday. They still face a court martial before the Supreme Military Court.

The scandal broke earlier this month when a video surfaced on the internet showing the officers pinning down the young man on a mattress and one of them threatening to rape him from behind. But after a few seconds, they all laugh and pick up the Haitian man, who also appeared to be taking part in the joke. But no one was laughing in Port-au-Prince or Montevideo when they learned about the incident.

Uruguayan President José Mujica sent a letter to his Haitian counterpart, Michel Martelly, apologizing for the incident and promising swift action.

Defense Minister Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro sent army General José María Burone to conduct an investigation. Preliminary findings by Minustah show that the incident, which took place in June, was in jest and the man was not sexually abused.

The five jailed officers also face civil prosecution following the military's decision to file criminal charges against them with the local courts.

The episode also ignited a congressional hearing by a defense committee which called on Fernández Huidobro to testify.