Haiti’s former first lady Martine Moise is indicted in her husband’s 2021 assassination: Prosecutor accuses her of being ‘complicit’ in murder ‘so she could take over the presidency’

Haiti’s former first lady Martine Moise has been charged with the 2021 assassination of her husband, President Jovenel Moise. after a prosecutor suggested she wanted his job for herself.

Moise, 49, was included in a recommendation for indictment of 70 people from the capital’s top prosecutor, obtained by The New York Times.

Haitian judge Walther Voltaire has now reviewed prosecutor’s documents and indicted the former first lady as well as the country’s former prime minister and police chief.

Moise is not accused of directly planning the fatal shooting of her husband Jovenel Moise in July 2021.

Instead, the judge accused her of being complicit in her husband’s death, saying he found contradictions in her Moïse’s statements, as well as some evidence suggesting she was aware of a plot against him.

The judge referred to testimony from two defendants who said she wanted to run for president after the murder, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Her attorney has denied the allegations, and a separate investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice reportedly found no evidence suggesting her involvement.

“We do not believe she is or ever could be a suspect in the case,” said Moise’s attorney Paul Turner. “She was a victim, as were her children who were there, and her husband.” Other legal analysts have suggested that the widow is a victim of Haiti’s corrupt political system.

Parallel investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Haitian prosecutors have led to separate indictments. Critics of the Haitian indictment claim it is politically motivated.

According to the Haitian investigation, the assassinated president, Jovenal Moise, was killed on July 7, 2021, by a gang of Colombian assassins hired by a Miami-based security company.

His security came under scrutiny for allegedly allowing the assassins into the presidential residence without resistance, and police failed to arrive on the scene in time after Moise called 911 from his ransacked bedroom.

The President was severely beaten before being shot dead on the spot, while the First Lady was also shot in the arms and thighs, and she claimed they only left after they thought she was dead.

Haiti descended into chaos in the aftermath of the killing, as political violence took over the country’s government. No elections were ever held to replace Moise.

In the absence of elections, the country’s prime minister took over, with the second and current interim leader, Ariel Henry, accused of involvement in the assassination.

This included telephone records allegedly showing that Henry had spoken to a key conspirator immediately before and after the shooting. He has denied any involvement.

The subsequent investigation by Haitian authorities concluded last week with the recommended indictment of Moise, along with 70 others. It was filed by the public prosecutor of the capital Port-au-Prince, Edler Guillaume, a political appointee of the government.

The filing is not legally binding and it is only recommended that the charges be filed by an investigating judge, who can dismiss them if he wishes.

Legal analysts cited by the New York Times have scrutinized the shocking charges against the former First Lady, viewing them as a weaponization of the legal system against a political enemy.

Some have seen it as a blatant attempt to divert speculation away from the government’s alleged involvement in the killing, with former US special envoy to Haiti Dan Foote labeling it “yet another act of evil” in response to the shooting.

“The fact that this government is leading the investigation is bad enough,” Mr Foote said. “It’s not even close to independent.”

In total, Haitian authorities have already arrested 44 people over the killing, including 20 Colombians, 19 Haitian law enforcement officers and three members of Moise’s security force – and they are among the 70 named in the new prosecutor’s file.

Separately from the Haitian investigation, prosecutors in the United States have filed charges against 11 men who allegedly carried out the plot.

Five pleaded guilty, and the remaining six defendants were scheduled to have the former first lady testify at the trial later this year in South Florida. It is not clear how the recommended charges could affect her involvement in the trial.

No evidence was presented in the indictment about Moise’s alleged plan to kill her husband, and attorneys for the defendants in Florida reportedly said the U.S. Department of Justice has given no indication that it suspects her of any wrongdoing.

The possible charges center around statements she made in the aftermath of her husband’s death, although the filing reportedly did not specify what she said.

Her lawyer countered that after her initial statement to police, she refused to return to Haiti for interviews with investigators out of fear for her safety.

Turner added that U.S. prosecutors had ordered her not to speak about the killing until she testified in their case in Florida.

While an arrest warrant was issued in October and only made public a week ago, Turner added that Haitian authorities are unaware of her location and it is being kept secret for her safety.

Brian Concannon, executive director of the human rights group Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, also questions the legitimacy of the possible new charges.

“It’s a system that is very subject to political manipulation,” he told the Times. “You have a prime minister who has already fired a previous prosecutor who asked too many difficult questions.”

Despite scrutiny, Prime Minister Henry’s office denied any manipulation of the legal process and claimed that investigators operated independently.

“The prime minister has no direct relationship with the examining magistrate, nor does he have control over him,” said spokesman Jean-Junior Joseph.

“The judge remains free to issue his order in accordance with the law and his conscience.”

The indictment also names Henry’s predecessor, Claude Joseph, as “complicit” in the killing, which he has fought with accusations that the filing is a political blow.

“There’s no point,” he said.

“Why would Martine Moïse have her husband murdered in a massive plot involving twenty Colombian former soldiers, when they live together and could find a million easier ways to get rid of him if she wanted to?”