Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Popular Haitian Rapper Arrested Then Released by Haiti National Police Sandra Lemaire WASHINGTON / PORT-AU-PRINCE - Popular Haitian RapperIzolan, is a free man after being arrestedWednesday nightat the Toussaint Louverture internationalAirport in Port-au-Prince by agentsofthe anti-drug trafficking branch of the Haitian NationalPolice. News of the arrest went viral on Twitter and Instagram after lawyer and opposition leader Andre Michel alertedhisfollowers. La DCPJ vient de procéder illégalement à l'arrestation de Jean Léonard Tout Puissant( IZOLAN),un artiste populaire.Maitre Palvin Phizéma, un avocat du du Secteur Démocratique et Populaire,est en route pour la DCPJ.Le Secteur Démocratique et Populaire exige sa libération immédiate -- Me. André Michel (@avokapepla) [1]March 24, 2021 "DCPJ has just illegally arrested Jean Leonard Tout Puissant (IZOLAN) a popular artist.PalvinPhizema, a lawyer who works for the Democratic and Popular sector (of oppositiongroups),ison his way to the DCPJ. The Democratic and Popular Sector demand his immediate release," Michel tweeted. VOA spoke toPhizemashortly after he arrived at the headquarters of the judiciary police, DCPJ. He told VOA he had not yet been allowed to see or speak with the rapper. It isstillunclear why the rapper was arrested. Popular Haitian American rapper Wyclef Jean,who has recordedseveralsongs withIzolan,posted a video onhis Instagram accountcondemningthe arrest. .'¦[2]@wyclef'© on the news that pioneering rap Kreyol artist '¦[3]@izolanofficial'© was arrested today in [4]#Haiti, (we're still waiting info from '¦[5]@PNH_officiel'© ) calls for his immediate release. [6]pic.twitter.com/JMHIlcNIEL -- Jacqueline Charles (@Jacquiecharles) [7]March 25, 2021 "I'm only going to say this once, this thing - I'm not going for it," Wyclef said, speaking in a mixture of Haitian Creole and English. "I'm not going forit,we're not going for it...LetIzolango. Please letIzolango." The video hassincebeen deleted from Wyclef'sInstagramaccount. About10 p.m., after being released fromDCPJcustody,Izolanposted a black-and-white selfie on his Instagramaccountandthankedfans for their support. "Thanks everybody for your support. DCPJ asked me to join them to respond to some questions. I didn't panic because I know myself. I will always be who I am, nothing can change that,"Izolanposted in Creole. The rapper told a local radio station he had been interrogated but did not elaborate. He wouldsayonlythat he was not asked about his ties to Fantom 509, the renegade group of former and current police officers who have been blamed for a series of jailbreaks, looting, violence and theMondayhold-upat gunpointof the Belize national team bus, shortly after they arrived in Haitifora World Cup qualifier.The team was unharmed.The U.S. State Department has described the group as "criminals." Earlier this week, the national police announced several arrest warrants for members ofFantom 509. Lawyer Michel tweeted his thanks. "Good News. IZOLAN has just been released. In the name of the Democratic and Popular Sector I would like to thank all the lawyers who went to the DCPJ to help IZOLAN," he tweeted. Bonne nouvelle. IZOLAN fenk Jwenn liberasyon li.Nan non Sektè Demokratik e Popilè a,Mwen Remèsye Tout Avoka( Mèt Palvin Phizéma, Arnel Rémy, Jules Frantz, Bellevue, Théophin) Ki te rive nan DCPJ nan Kad Dosye IZOLAN an. -- Me. André Michel (@avokapepla) [8]March 25, 2021 Izolansayshe is ready to talk to the police again if needed. The rapper has been an outspoken critic of President Jovenel Moise's governance and widespread insecurity. In an interview with VOA during a pro-democracydemonstrationonFebruary 21,Izolansaid he hasreceived threatsdue to hisoutspokenness. "I'm one of the people who receives threats all the time because of my political views. That's why I don't botheranyone,and I don't want anyone to bother me either. Everyone clearly sees that gangs rule this capital[Port-au-Prince]," he told VOA. He also had a message for Fantom 509. "Everyone knows the 509 policemen are not illegal, they are legal, they are working with the union (SPNH17) to claim their rights. They are unableto eat or sleep and they spend their days out in the streets," he told VOA,adding that as an artist he considers the police to be heroes. Our reporter ran into rapper [9]@izolanofficial on the street during the protest against dictatorship and kidnapping in [10]#Haiti. He expressed support for the 509 Policemen who are trying to unionize. ð¹Matiado Vilme [11]pic.twitter.com/BcxdoSz62w -- Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) [12]February 21, 2021 Izolansays he will participate in two days of protests on March 28 andMarch29. The demonstrations, organized byHaitiancivil society groups, aim toprotestviolence and demand respect for the constitution. Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti contributed to this report References 1. https://twitter.com/avokapepla/status/1374868825901051907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 2. https://twitter.com/wyclef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 3. https://twitter.com/izolanofficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 4. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Haiti?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 5. https://twitter.com/pnh_officiel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 6. https://t.co/JMHIlcNIEL 7. https://twitter.com/Jacquiecharles/status/1374887544744251400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 8. https://twitter.com/avokapepla/status/1374889385485828103?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 9. https://twitter.com/izolanofficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 10. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Haiti?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 11. https://t.co/BcxdoSz62w 12. https://twitter.com/SandraDVOA/status/1363593552203251718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw .