Turkey arrests suspect in connection with Haitian president's murder
A picture of the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise hangs on a wall before a news conference by interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph at his house, almost a week after his assassination, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 13, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS
Turkish authorities have arrested a man considered a suspect of "great interest" in the July assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, Haiti's Foreign Minister Claude Joseph said late on Monday.
The 53-year-old former businessman Moise, who took office in 2017, was shot dead at his private residence and his wife was wounded in the attack. A group of Colombian mercenaries emerged as the main suspects though nobody has been charged or convicted in connection with the case.
"I just had a phone conversation with the Turkish Minister, my friend Mevlut Cavusoglu, to thank Turkey for the arrest of Samir Handal, one of the persons of great interest in the investigation into the assassination of the president," Joseph said on Twitter.
Read More: Haitian president assassinated at home in 'barbaric act'
Turkish media reported on Tuesday that Handal, who was being sought with an Interpol Red Notice, was detained at the Istanbul Airport by authorities as he was flying transit from the United States to Jordan.
Turkey's Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.