Haitian prosecutor seeks charges against Prime Minister Ariel Henry in connection with former President Moise's assassination
- Haiti's chief prosecutor, has asked a judge to charge Prime Minister Ariel Henry in connection to the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse.
- Bedford Claude, Port-au-Prince's chief prosecutor, said Henry spoke to a suspect in the case hours after Moïse was killed.
- "There are enough compromising elements ... to prosecute Henry and ask for his outright indictment," Claude wrote in a charging request to the judge.
Haiti's chief prosecutor has asked a judge to charge Prime Minister Ariel Henry in the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
Bedford Claude, Port-au-Prince's chief prosecutor, said last week that Henry spoke with one of the suspects in the assassination just hours after Moïse's death, the Associated Press reported.
"There are enough compromising elements ... to prosecute Henry and ask for his outright indictment," Claude wrote in a charging request to a judge.
Claude said that evidence shows Henry calling suspect Joseph Badio at 4:03 and 4:20 a.m. on July 7, the same morning Moïse was killed inside his home by armed gunmen.
Badio was in the vicinity of Moïse's home at the time of the calls, Claude said.
Claude has also asked Henry to meet with him and explain why he had spoken to Badio following the assassination.
Moïse appointed Henry to the position of prime minister two days before he was assassinated.
Henry has not addressed the situation publicly, but told politicians and civil leaders on Saturday that he wants to focus on finding the "real culprits."
"Rest assured that no distraction, no summons or invitation, no maneuver, no threat, no rearguard combat, no aggression will distract me from my mission," Henry said, according to AP. "The real culprits, the intellectual authors and coauthor and sponsor of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse will be found and brought to justice and punished for their crimes."
More than 40 people have been arrested in connection to Moïse's murder, and officials are still looking for Badio and other suspects.