Seventeen Colombian ex-soldiers detained for their alleged participation in the assassination of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moise, demanded their immediate release; alleging mistreatment and abuse, according to a letter revealed by local media on Tuesday.
In the letter of twenty pages and written by hand the detainees denouncehuman rights violations(of) due process and health problems“
(You can read: ‘The government has not ignored the rights of those detained for assassination in Haiti’).
“We request that you assist in the request for immediate release for all of us“, indicates the text addressed to the Colombian government, the state human rights agency, the UN and other organizations.
The terms of legalization of our detention have absolutely expired, consequently, we request the support
Moise was shot to death in early July 2021 at his private residence in Port-au-Prince. It is suspected that a command made up of about twenty Colombians was in charge of the attack.
Three of the suspected Colombian attackers were killed by Haitian forces and another was extradited. and charged in the United States, where he arrived after being arrested in Jamaica while on the run.
“The terms of legalization of our detention have absolutely expired, consequently, we request the support (…) to file this petition for habeas corpus“, adds the letter.
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The document was signed by 17 people from Port-au-Prince, where they remain detained after the assassination.
“To date, the reason for our arrest has not been reported. (…) we do not have a defense attorney, we have not been presented before any judgeThe ex-military complained.
What does the Colombian Government say?
The Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister, Marta Lucía Ramírez, has protested on different occasions about the mistreatment of these prisoners in Haiti. The detainees allege “cruelty, xenophobia, harassment, physical and psychological torture“.
In January 2022, Ramírez also denounced that the consul in that country was threatened when he was managing the defense.
(We recommend: Former Haitian senator suspected of Moïse’s murder arrested in Jamaica).
Bogotá has offered its support to resolve the motives for the crime, which have not been clarified. Based on investigations that it has collected together with the FBI, the Colombian police suspect that the mercenaries were deceived and that only a few knew of the plan to assassinate the president.
AFP
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