There are 44 suspects after the murder of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse – but a trial is still a long way off. Apparently there is fear among the judges in the country that they will take over the case.
A month after the assassination of the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, the judiciary has not yet opened an official investigation. According to information from judicial circles, the competent court has great difficulties in finding an investigating judge. The lawyers in question are therefore afraid for their safety and that of their families.
“Not thrilled to take the case”
“This is a sensitive and political case,” an investigating judge, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the AFP news agency. “Everyone thinks about their safety and that of their families before agreeing to take over the investigation.” He and his colleagues are therefore “not exactly enthusiastic about accepting the case”.
In order to reassure the investigating judges, the chief judge of the court of Port-au-Prince, Bernard Saint-Vil, has called on the government to guarantee their protection and to appoint bodyguards. “Even before a judge is entrusted with the case, these funds should be available,” he told the press.
Saint-Vil had announced that he would announce the name of the investigating judge in charge on Thursday. But on Saturday the post was still vacant.
Head of state Moïse was shot dead by a murder squad in his home in the capital Port-au-Prince on the night of July 7th. His wife survived seriously injured.
Police say they have arrested 44 suspects in connection with the attack, including 12 Haitian police officers, 18 Colombian mercenaries and two US citizens of Haitian origin. Among those arrested is Moïses’ head of security. According to police, the attack was planned by Haitians with political ambitions and connections abroad.
Haiti authorities are looking for more suspects
Police are looking for other suspects, including a Supreme Court judge, a former senator and a businessman. The Port-au-Prince public prosecutor’s office had also summoned an opposition leader, the chairman of Moïse’s party and two Haitian pastors who had publicly criticized Moïse.
The murder plunged the Caribbean state, which was already marked by instability and great poverty, into an even deeper crisis. Moïse had last ruled Haiti by decree after a parliamentary election planned for 2018 was postponed, among other things because of protests against him. The murdered president was increasingly unpopular: many Haitians blamed him for the corona crisis in the country and the increasing violence by criminal gangs.
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