Haiti reportedly wants Jamaica to hand over Moise suspect

Haiti is reportedly seeking to have Jamaica hand over a former senator who has been linked to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

According to the Miami Herald, the request for John Joël Joseph was sent to Jamaica on March 10, the same day that he and members of his family appeared in a Kingston court, where a judge put off a decision on his fate.

“Mr John Joël Joseph is considered a fugitive from justice and is suspected of being an accessory to a crime,” a high-ranking Haitian government source was quoted as saying.

“All of this has been clearly stated in the correspondence.”

It is unclear if Haitian authorities are requesting Joseph's deportation or extradition.

Haiti and Jamaica do not share an extradition agreement.

Joseph, his wife Edume, 38, and their sons Schopenhauer, 17, and Abaku, nine, who are charged with illegal entry, were remanded to return to the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on March 24.

Edume and her sons were seeking asylum in Jamaica, but at the last court appearance on March 10, their attorney indicated that they are pursuing an option for asylum other than Jamaica.

READ: Joseph family hunts new asylum option

“There is a particular discussion that is to be with our counterparts elsewhere, and I believe that particular discussions [will] bear some fruits in relation to the status of three of the persons before the courts,” attorney Donahue Martin told Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montaque.

While pointing out that she understood the sensitive nature of the matter, the judge warned that she was granting further adjournment for the last time.

Joseph and his family were arrested on January 14 during a police operation in Warminster district in St Elizabeth.

The attorney has maintained that his clients' safety is at risk in Haiti and that they fled the country out of fear for their lives after Edume was attacked by a gunman.

John Joel, 59, is reportedly listed among five fugitives who are wanted in connection with the then president's assassination.

He is accused of reportedly renting four vehicles that were used by Colombian assassins on the night of the deadly attack.

Moϊse was killed at his private residence overlooking the capital on July 7, 2021.

He was reportedly shot 12 times and had bullet wounds to his forehead and several to his torso.

His left eye had been gouged and bones reportedly broken.

Moϊse's wife, Martine, was shot in the incident but survived.

Another key suspect in the murder plot, ex-Colombian military officer Mario Antonio Palacios, was deported from Jamaica on January 3 after his immigration breach conviction.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.