Haiti court orders new probe into July 2021 presidential slaying in key ruling
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Justice officials in Haiti are asking the U.S. and Canada for help after a court of appeals ordered a new investigation into the killing of President Jovenel Moïse, the third one of its kind since he was fatally shot at his private residence in July 2021.
Monday’s ruling overturns last year’s indictment of 51 people, including Moïse’s widow, Martine Moïse; the former director of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles; and former Prime Minister Claude Joseph.
A Haitian appeals court said it would seek help from U.S. and Canada in securing interviews with people including Charles, Martine Moïse, her son and former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, according to Le Nouvelliste newspaper.
While the court noted that a new investigation would start from scratch, it ordered that 17 former Colombian soldiers arrested in the case as well as a handful of Haitian suspects remain held in prison, defense attorney Nathalie Delisca told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Delisca said she would not contest the appeals court decision to Haiti’s Supreme Court because she does not believe it would change anything.
Haiti’s justice system overall is crumbling amid widespread corruption and a surge in gang violence.
“We are living in a deplorable situation,” she said, adding that the interpreters in the most recent judicial investigation did not correctly translate her clients’ statements.
“Some judges even had the decency to note that the interpreters sometimes misrepresented the words of the people being questioned,” she said.
Delisca said that a lack of evidence and required paperwork for certain suspects prompted the call for a new investigation.
She noted that her request that the 17 former Colombian soldiers be provisionally released was denied.
The case continues to drag on in Haiti while authorities in the U.S. have already charged 11 extradited suspects, five of whom have pleaded guilty.
Several other suspects in the U.S. are awaiting trial, which is now scheduled for March 2026.
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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america