Turkey detains suspect in assassination of Haitian president

By Abidin Mutlu Bozdag

ISTANBUL (AA) - A key suspect in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise was detained at the Istanbul airport early Tuesday, sources said.

Samir Handal, a businessman wanted on Interpol's red notice, has now been placed under a 40-day temporary custody in an Istanbul prison.

Handal was flying from the US to Jordan via Istanbul, according to the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Haiti's Foreign Minister Claude Joseph thanked his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Twitter for Turkey's arrest of one of the people of "great interest" in the investigation.

Moise, 53, was shot dead at his private residence on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince on July 7. His wife was wounded in the attack.