Official: Suspects break into Haiti court, ransack offices

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Unidentified suspects broke into one of Haiti’s main courthouses, ransacked judges’ offices and stole items including cell phones, Government Commissioner Jacques Lafontant told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Lafontant said evidence and documents linked to cases including the July 7 presidential slaying of Jovenel Moïse and the August 2020 killing of Monferrier Dorval, head of the bar association of Port-au-Prince, were not taken because they’re in a secure location elsewhere.

The break-in occurred earlier this week at the Court of First Instance in Haiti’s capital and is one of several reported in recent years, with authorities struggling to protect key evidence and documents in high-profile cases that remain unresolved.

Last year, local media reported that unidentified people stole the safe at the court’s general registry that contained documents for cases including Dorval’s.