Baby Doc charged with corruption

An investigating judge now must decide if there is sufficient evidence to proceed with the case.

What was not included in the list of charges was the number of human rights violations attributed to Duvalier and his secret police force, the Tonton Macoutes.

"Haiti must investigate Jean-Claude Duvalier, and anyone else allegedly responsible for such crimes, some of which amount to crimes against humanity, in a trial that is thorough, independent, and fair," said rights group Amnesty International's Special Advisor Javier Zuniga in a statement.

Zuniga said that those alleged human rights violations included torture, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances.

Duvalier fled Haiti in 1986 after an uprising. He has been in exile for the past 25 years in France.

Haitian journalist Michele Montas, a former spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, confirmed she was planning to file a lawsuit against Duvalier.

Montas went into exile during Duvalier's regime, and her husband, radio journalist Jean Dominique, was assassinated in 2000 after criticising numerous political figures.

"We wanted to file a collective suit, but finally on the advice of our lawyers we are going to file three or four individual suits as soon as possible," said Montas.

Four alleged Haitian torture vicitims had filed a case with the French government against Baby Doc in September 1999, charging him with crimes against humanity. The case was dismissed because French law at the time was not retroactive.