After 9 months of judicial saga in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, Turkey has released businessman Samir Handal (64), who holds Palestinian, Jordanian and Haitian nationalities as well as a green card which allowed him to live in the United States for 22 years and authorized him to leave the territory on August 3rd. A decision which comes after the refusal of extradition to Haiti for reasons deemed insufficient and the suspension of the Interpol red notice (after appeal).

Me Mahmut Barlas, Handal's lawyer in Turkey recalls that the file provided by Haiti to Interpol for the red notice and the extradition request affirmed that Handal was part of the assailants who killed the President, injured his wife and stole valuables and documents at the President's residence. Emphasizing that Haiti's allegations were misleading but still turned into an almost verbatim indictment.

Handal denies any role in the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, he became one of the suspects because two months before the assassination of the President he had rented a house in Port-au-Prince for 3 months to serve as a medical office, to Dr. Christian Emmanuel Sanon, an American of Haitian origin who, according to the National Police of Haiti (PNH), is one of the masterminds of the assassination and had Presidential ambitions https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34210-haiti-flash-arrest-of-one-of-the-intellectual-authors-of-the-assassination-of-president-moise-and-an-attempted-coup.html .

Handal maintains that he never went to the house after renting it, and Sanon also confirmed to the PNH that he had nothing to do with Handal.

Me Mahmut Barlas recalls that the FBI had questioned Handal on several occasions as part of investigations into suspects detained in the United States in connection with the assassination of President Moïse, but that the American authorities never placed him under investigation or under judicial restriction.

Handal chose to travel to Canada first, unsure of the validity of his US residence permit after spending more than six months in Turkey. After flying to Canada on August 3rf, he traveled to Miami to join his family.

Handal and his wife immigrated to Haiti in 1980, where they lived for two decades before moving to the United States. Handal used to return frequently to Haiti where his daughter still lives.

Read also about the Samir Handal case :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37074-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-turkey-rejects-samir-handal-s-extradition-request-and-orders-his-release.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36795-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-the-extradition-of-turkey-of-samir-handal-stalls.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36457-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-postponement-of-the-extradition-hearing-of-samir-handal-in-turkey.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35720-haiti-extradition-of-handal-turkey-asks-for-more-info-and-guarantees-from-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35261-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-haitian-businessman-samir-handal-in-prison-in-istanbul-for-40-days.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35541-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-the-eventual-transfer-of-samir-handal-from-turkey-may-take-a-long-time.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35253-haiti-flash-samir-handal-suspect-in-the-assassination-of-president-moise-arrested-in-turkey.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34395-icihaiti-assassination-of-the-president-5-new-suspects.html

Read also about the assassination of President Moïse :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36347-haiti-flash-former-colombian-soldier-mario-antonio-palacios-pleads-not-guilty-in-the-usa.html

SL/ HaitiLibre