The Value Of President Moise's Assassination Global Crime: Haiti Writes To UN Secretary General, Requests Investigation Assistance

JAKARTA - The government of Haiti has requested assistance from the United Nations (UN) to conduct an international investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last month, the Haitian Embassy in the Dominican Republic said on Thursday.

The official letter requesting Haiti's assistance was addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated August 3, the Haitian Embassy said in a statement, citing Reuters Friday August 6.

In particular, Haiti called for an international commission of inquiry to be formed, along with a special tribunal to try the suspects linked to the killings.

Signed by Foreign Minister Claude Joseph, the letter said Haiti considered the killing attack on President Jovenel Moise at his residence an international crime because of the alleged role of foreigners in its planning, financing and execution.

Haiti also said the request for UN assistance was similar to an investigation into the 2005 terrorist attacks in Lebanon that killed 22 people, including Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Last month, UN Special Envoy Helen La Lime said Haiti had asked the UN Security Council to help investigate the assassination of President Moise, following a Security Council meeting, against the backdrop of Haiti's political and security crisis.

"Haiti made a request for assistance in this investigation from international authorities. It is important that this request is taken seriously," La Lime said, citing The National News Friday, July 9.

"The key thing is that in the next two weeks we really have to work in the most effective way, to ensure this investigation moves forward and the perpetrators of this horrific crime are brought to justice," he said at the time.

For information, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in a brutal attack on July 7 at midnight on his private residence in Port-au-Prince, by a group of people who were mostly Colombian mercenaries. His wife, who was also the victim of the attack, survived and was then evacuated for further medical treatment.

The Haitian police have so far detained a number of suspects, including several former Colombian soldiers and the Haitian Presidential Security Coordinator (Paspampres) Jean Laguel Civil, who are suspected of involvement in the assassination plot.

Most recently, the former Supreme Court Justice who was ousted by the late President Moise in February because of a coup plot, Coq-Thelot, was also named by the Haiti Police as a suspect. Police said the suspect had met with a group of Colombian mercenaries accused of killing President Moise, along with their confession of meeting with Coq-Thelot.