New Haiti justice minister speaks on Moïse killing

New Haitian Justice Minister Liszt Quitel on Thursday pledged to find those responsible for killing of President Jovenel Moïse as he spoke publicly for first time since taking job.

Quitel said he was prioritizing killings of Moïse, who was fatally shot July 7 at his home, and Monferrier Dorval, he of Port-au-Prince's Bar Association who was killed at his home in August 2020.

Quitel also said he aims to fight gangs and reduce lengthy pretrial detentions, with thousands of people languishing in Haiti's prisons for years without a single hearing.

"re is no more room for distraction or diversion, confusion and petty infighting," he said.

Quitel takes over position from Rockfeller Vincent, whom Prime Minister Ariel Henry dismissed a day after he fired Port-au-Prince's chief prosecutor earlier this week for an undefined "serious ministrative fault."

prosecutor, Bed-Ford Claude, h requested a meeting with Henry on Tuesday to interview him about two calls he said prime minister h just hours after Moïse's killing with a key suspect in case.

Claude n ordered judge in case to charge Henry based on evidence.

Quitel only briefly mentioned Moïse's killing in his speech as he promised to establish coherence and harmony between Haiti's judicial and executive powers.

"We are living in difficult times with pressing needs for justice and security," he said.

Quitel is one of three new officials taking over top government positions in Haiti this week.

Claude was replaced by prosecutor Frantz Louis Juste, while Renald Lubérice, who served as secretary of general for Haiti's Council of Ministers, resigned on Wednesday, saying he could not serve under Henry and accused him of obstructing justice. He was replaced by Josué Pierre Louis.

IMAGE: AP