Haitian judge and two court workers 'received death threats for refusing to tamper with evidence in president's assassination'

A Haitian judge and two court workers have spoken of receiving death threats after refusing to tamper with evidence in the investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Moise, 53, was killed on July 7 after gunmen stormed his suburban Port-au-Prince home, shooting him 12 times and seriously injuring his wife.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested but, so far, none have been charged or brought to court.   

The New York Times reported that justice of the peace Carl Henry Destin and clerks Marcelin Valentin and Waky Philostene have gone into hiding with a stack of legal documents related to the investigation after being threatened.

They told the paper that authorities had ignored their requests for help after anonymous callers and visitors began harassing them in an attempt to pressure them into altering the sworn statements of witnesses. 

If they refused, they were warned to 'expect a bullet in your head,' the New York Times reported.

'There are great interests at play that are not interested in solving this case,' Mr Valentin told the paper. 'There's no progress, no will to find the truth.' 

Moise's killing threw a country already rattled by years of mass protests against corruption, rising inflation and poor living conditions into further disarray.

While the Caribbean island's acting president has vowed to deliver justice for the killing, some fear Moise's death will remain shrouded in secrecy.

A Haitian judge and two court workers have spoken of receiving death threats after refusing to tamper with evidence in the investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Pictured: Moise's funeral on 

Moise, 53, was killed on July 7 after gunmen stormed his suburban Port-au-Prince home, shooting him 12 times and seriously injuring his wife. Pictured: A mourner holds a photo of Moise at his funeral on July 23

Mr Valentin and Mr Philostene told The New York Times that they saw a number of violations of official procedure while accompanying judges to the president's home and those of the suspects.

They said police moved the bodies of the suspected attackers, removed some of the evidence and denied them access to the crime scene for several hours. 

Mr Valentin told the paper that shortly after witnessing the detained suspects' first interrogations and recording their statements, he received a call from Moise's security chief, Jean Laguel Civil, asking what had been said.

Hours later, he said a man he did not know turned up at his office and demanded Mr Valentin add the names of a prominent businessman, and a well-known politician to the suspects' statements. 

Mr Valentin said that after he refused to do so he began receiving death threats.

The New York Times cited a July 16 text message quoted in a copy of a formal complaint filed by Mr Valentin with the prosecutor's office as reading: 'Clerk, you can expect a bullet in your head. We ordered you to do something, and you're doing jack all.' 

Mr Philostene said he received similar threats from the same phone number at roughly the same time as his colleague Mr Valentin.

Mr Civil was arrested on July 26 in connection with the investigation into Moise's death.

The two clerks told The New York Times that their complaints were ignored and that a promised armed escort never arrived.

Mr Destin, the investigative judge, told the paper he had also been pressured to change statements and threatened with death if he did not obey.  

Dozens of suspects have been arrested but, so far, none have been charged or brought to court. Pictured: Suspects are shown to the media on July 8 along with weapons and equipment allegedly used in the attack

Haiti's legal system has long been plagued by corruption but insiders say the investigation into Moise's killing was crippled by procedural violations from the start. Pictured: Moise's widow Martine Moise at his funeral on July 23

Haiti's legal system has long been plagued by corruption but insiders say the investigation into Moise's killing was crippled by procedural violations from the start. 

Court documents show that two former soldiers from Colombia killed after the assassination had around $42,000 in cash on or near them when they died. 

In later police reports, the money is absent from lists of evidence found at the scene, The New York Times reported.   

Since Moise's assassination, 44 suspects have been detained and investigators are seeking several more.

Those in custody include 18 former Colombian commandos and numerous members of Moise's security team. 

However, none of those detained have been charged or appeared in court despite Haitian law requiring suspects be charged within 48 hours or released. 

The New York Times reported that many of the 44 detained have been denied legal counsel and some have claimed they were beaten to extract confessions. 

Despite being asked for assistance by former caretaker president Claude Joseph, investigators from Interpol, and U.S. and Colombian agencies struggled to gain access to evidence or the suspects, the paper reported, citing 'officials familiar with the investigation'.

Samuel Madistin, a lawyer representing two of the suspects, described the circumstances of the investigation as 'all highly irregular and illegal.' 

'If the people do not trust the process, they will not trust the verdict,' he told The New York Times.

The paper also spoke with Moise's widow, Martine Moise, who said she does not believe the suspects had the resources to organise or execute the plot as described by Haitian and Colombian authorities.

The plan, which authorities said began in Haiti and Florida, would have involved flying in the highly trained former commandos from Colombia.       

'What really interests me is that we catch the person who gave the order,' said Mrs Moise. 'It's about finding the people who paid the money,' she told The New York Times.