Haiti’s investigative judge overseeing the inquiry into President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination is being removed from the case after failing to meet a legal deadline on bringing formal charges, signaling a significant delay in the prosecution of dozens of suspects being held but not formally charged.
Judge Garry Orelien had three months to summon witnesses and investigate the facts in the July 7, 2021, attack that left Moïse, 53, dead and his wife, Martine, seriously wounded. After failing to do either, Orelien earlier this month asked for an extension until Dec. 30. Bernard Saint-Vil, the dean of the Court of First Instance in Port-au-Prince and Orelien’s boss, said no.
Saint-Vil said in a letter Tuesday that an extension “will not allow the judge to complete his mission.”
