Connect with us

Foreign

Wife of Haiti’s assassinated president indicted in his killing

Published

on

A judge in Haiti investigating the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse indicted his widow, Martine Moïse, ex-prime minister Claude Joseph and the former chief of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles, among others in his killing.

Dozens of suspects were indicted in the 122-page report issued by Walther Wesser Voltaire, who is the fifth judge to lead the investigation after previous ones stepped down for various reasons, including fear of being killed.

Charles, who was police chief when Moïse was killed and now serves as Haiti’s permanent representative to the Organization of the American States, faces the most serious charges: murder; attempted murder; possession and illegal carrying of weapons; conspiracy against the internal security of the state; and criminal association.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Martine Moïse, who was injured in the attack, are accused of complicity and criminal association.

Advertisement

Joseph, the former prime minister, shared a statement with The Associated Press accusing Henry of “undermining” the investigation and benefitting from the president’s death.

“Henry … is weaponizing the Haitian justice system, prosecuting political opponents like me. It’s a classic coup d’état,” Joseph said. “They failed to kill me and Martine Moïse on July 7th 2021, now they are using the Haitian justice system to advance their Machiavellian agenda.”

Joseph again called on Henry to resign and noted that while he was still prime minister, he invited the FBI to help local authorities investigate the killing and wrote the U.N. and OAS for help.

“I won’t stop my fight. Justice must be served,” he said.

Advertisement

In his report, the judge noted that the former secretary general of the National Palace, Lyonel Valbrun, told authorities that he received “strong pressure” from Martine Moïse to put the president’s office at the disposal of Joseph because he needed it to “organize a council of ministers.”

Valbrun also said that two days before her husband was killed, Martine Moïse visited the National Palace and spent nearly five hours, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., removing “a bunch of things.”

He said that two days after Jovenel Moïse was slain, Martine Moïse called to tell him that, “Jovenel didn’t do anything for us. You have to open the office. The president told Ti Klod to create a council of ministers; he will hold elections in three months so I can become president, now we will have power.”

While the document did not identify Ti Klod, the former prime minister, Claude Joseph, is known by that name.

Advertisement

The judge also stated in his report that Martine Moïse “suggested” she took refuge under the marital bed to protect herself from the attackers, but he noted that authorities at the scene found that not “even a giant rat…whose size measures between 35 and 45 centimeters” could fit under the bed.

The judge said the former first lady’s statements were “so tainted with contradictions that they leave something to be desired and discredit her.”

Others who face charges including murder are Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-American pastor who visualized himself as Haiti’s next president and said he thought Moïse was only going to be arrested; Joseph Vincent, a Haitian-American and former informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Dimitri Hérard, presidential security chief; John Joël Joseph, a former Haitian senator; and Windelle Coq, a Haitian judge whom authorities say is a fugitive.

Sanon, Vincent, and Joseph were extradited to the U.S., where a total of 11 suspects face federal charges in the slaying of Haiti’s president. At least three of them already have been sentenced.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, more than 40 suspects are languishing in prison in Haiti awaiting trial, although it was not immediately clear how quickly one would be held following Monday’s indictments. Among them are 20 former Colombian soldiers.

Milena Carmona, wife of Jheyner Alberto Carmona Flórez, told The Associated Press that he is innocent.

“What’s happening is that this crime is a conspiracy of great magnitudes in which powerful people are behind the scenes running everything, and that’s why they’re not given freedom,” she said of the former soldiers.

U.S. prosecutors have described it as a plot hatched in both Haiti and Florida to hire mercenaries to kidnap or kill Moïse, who was 53 when he was slain at his private home near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

Advertisement

The attack began late July 6 and ended July 7, according to witnesses.

Martine Moïse and others who were interrogated said they heard heavy gunfire starting around 1 a.m. that lasted between 30 to to 45 minutes before armed men burst into the bedroom of the presidential couple.

Moïse said she was lying on the ground when she heard the attackers yell, “That’s not it! That’s not it! That’s not it!”

She said the suspects made a video call to identify the exact location of what they were searching as they killed the president. She added that she was face down when the suspects tilted her head and tugged on one of her toes “to ensure that she wasn’t alive.”

Advertisement

Once they left, Moïse said she dragged herself on the ground and whispered to her husband that she was going to try and go to the hospital.

“That’s when she noticed that the president was dead and that his left eye had been removed from the socket,” the report stated.

Moïse said a group of about 30 to 50 police officers were supposed to guard the presidential residence, but the judge noted that only a handful of officers were present that night.

One officer told the judge that he heard explosions and a voice through a megaphone saying, “Do not shoot! It’s a DEA operation! US Army! We know how many officers are inside. Exit with two hands lowered.”

Advertisement

Another officer said the head of security of the first lady found her “in critical condition” surrounded by her two children. He said he also saw an undetermined number of people coming out of the president’s residence “with briefcases and several envelopes in their possession.”

The report quotes Inspector General André Vladimir Paraison saying that the president called him at 1:46 a.m. and told him, “Paraison! Man, hurry up! I’m in trouble! Come quickly and save my life.” He said he encountered heavily armed men and couldn’t access the residence immediately.

Officers at the scene said they found cars, windows, and doors at the president’s private home riddled with bullet holes, along with surveillance cameras cut off and a broken lock on the double-wooden door leading to the presidential bedroom.

The judge said some police officers at the residence were disarmed and handcuffed, while others “had time to throw themselves down a ravine” for safety. In addition, the police officer overseeing presidential security was accused of receiving $80,000 to bribe certain officers “to remain inactive” during the assassination, according to the report.

Advertisement

The judge noted how “none of the police providing security to the head of state was in danger. Unfortunately, the head of state was assassinated with ease.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Foreign

Pope mourns Damascus church attack, prays for victims

Published

on

By

Pope Leo said on Tuesday he was deeply saddened by a suicide attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Syria at the weekend.

A little-known Sunni Muslim extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday, which killed 25 and wounded more than 60 others.

The authorities had initially blamed the Islamic State group for the shooting and suicide bombing at the Saint Elias church in the Syrian capital.

“His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and destruction caused by the attack on the Greek Orthodox church of Mar Elias in Damascus,” said Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

Advertisement

“He expresses heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy,” said the Italian cardinal, who is the second-highest official in the Catholic Church after the pope.

The attack was the first suicide bombing in a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitor based in London.

Syria’s Christian minority is estimated to have shrunk from one million in 2011 to around 300,000 today.

AFP

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Foreign

Qatar reopens airspace after Iran’s attack on US base near Doha

Published

on

By

Qatar has reopened its airspace after closing it earlier on Monday in anticipation of retaliatory attacks by Iran on a US air base near Doha.

Iran launched missiles at al-Udeid air base on Monday evening. Both Qatari and US officials said nearly all were intercepted and their were no casualties or injuries.

Prior to Iran’s attack, the US embassy in Qatar had urged American citizens to shelter-in-place “out of an abundance of caution”. That order has since been lifted, with the embassy saying operations will resume as normal on Tuesday.

Monday’s attack by Tehran comes two days after the US launched massive strikes against three nuclear facilities inside Iran.

Advertisement

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday local time, Qatari officials announced that air travel in the country could resume as normal.

Earlier on Monday, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was closing its airspace to ensure the safety of residents and visitors, without offering further details.

Around the same time, the US embassy in Qatar suggested in a notice online that Americans should shelter in place “until further notice”. The UK government issued a similar warning to its citizens in Qatar, saying it was doing so in response to the US alert.

The warnings came ahead of a missile attack by Iran on al-Udeid Air Base, which serves as the headquarters for US Central Command’s air operations in the Middle East and hosts nearly 8,000 US troops, according to the State Department.

Advertisement

Iran said the attacks were meant to send a “clear and explicit” message to the US, and that it “will not leave any attack on its territorial integrity, sovereignty and national security unanswered”.

In response, Qatar said it “strongly condemns” the strike. It added that the attack was “successfully thwarted” by Qatari air defence systems.

US President Donald Trump called Iran’s response “very weak” and thanked Iranian officials for giving the Americans “early notice” of their attack.

Hours later, he announced Iran and Israel had come to a ceasefire deal that could bring an end to the war. Both countries have yet to confirm a ceasefire has been reached.

Advertisement

Trump said the agreement was a “total and complete” ceasefire and dubbed the conflict the “12 Day War”.

“This is a war that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!” Trump said in a social media post.

Earlier, other countries in the region, including Bahrain and Kuwait, had temporarily closed their airspaces out of precaution.

The US has about 40,000 troops stationed in the Middle East.

Advertisement

Flight tracking websites showed planes diverting to other airports following the closure of Qatari airspace, including one from London bound for Doha that was diverted back to Heathrow airport.

Hamad International Airport is one of the world’s top 10 busiest airports on international traffic with around 140,000 passengers passing through per day.

Bilateral relations between the US and Qatar are “strong”, according to the State Department, which says Qatar has helped play a financial, political and military role in dealing with turmoil in the region.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Foreign

Qatar Closes Airspace After US, UK Alerted Citizens Amid Fears of Iranian Retaliation

Published

on

By

Qatar closed its airspace temporarily on Monday following security warnings issued by the United States and the United Kingdom urging their citizens in the country to stay put until further notice.

The embassy advisories came as Iran reiterated its threats to retaliate against the United States over recent strikes on its nuclear sites.

The alerts triggered widespread concerns across Doha, prompting several institutions to send emergency instructions to staff and students.

Qatar’s foreign minister said on X that the airspace closure was “part of measures taken amid developments in the region,” without offering additional details.

Advertisement

However, a statement earlier from foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said: “The security situation remains stable.”

Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, housing around 10,000 troops and serving as the forward headquarters of US Central Command.

Two US officials told Reuters that Iran may carry out attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East, with one suggesting it could occur “in the next day or two.”

Messages from the US and British embassies said their warnings were issued “out of an abundance of caution,” and no further explanation was provided.

Advertisement

Residents in Doha voiced confusion over what they viewed as conflicting messages from Qatari and embassy officials.

Following the embassy alerts, American university campuses in Qatar reacted swiftly.

Texas A&M University ordered an evacuation, Northwestern University advised everyone to go home, and Georgetown University said people could go home if they wished.

The American School in Doha, which was not in session, closed its campus and cancelled its summer camps until further notice.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News