Feb 19, 2024 - World

Haiti president's widow among dozens indicted in his assassination

Rebecca Falconer

A memorial for Haitian President Jovenel Moïse marking the first anniversary of his assassination in Port-au-Prince in July 2022. Photo: Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images

The widow of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse is among some 50 people facing charges over her husband's assassination, according to an indictment first reported by local media on Monday.

The big picture: Haiti Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire's final report on the July 2021 Port-au-Prince attack that killed the president and seriously injured the then-first lady Martine Moïse, who's accused in the probe of being among the accomplices in the plot, is separate to a U.S. case in Miami on the killing.

Former Prime Minister Claude Joseph is accused of conspiring with the former first lady and others in the plot to kill the president, alleges the indictment obtained by the AyiboPost.

What they're saying: Paul Turner, a lawyer for Martine Moïse who is currently in hiding who does not face a murder charge, told the New York Times earlier that his "client was a victim, just like her children that were there, and her husband."

Joseph in a statement to the Miami Herald accused current Prime Minster Ariel Henry of "weaponizing the Haitian justice system" by targeting him and other opponents in "a classic coup d'etat."

Zoom out: Reuters notes six of the 11 people charged in Miami over an alleged plot to deploy Colombian mercenaries to kidnap or kill Jovenel Moïse have pleaded guilty to related offenses.

Go deeper: Haitian president's funeral takes place amid violent protests

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Haiti president's widow among dozens indicted in his assassination

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