WASHINGTON, D.C. and MIAMI – Aug. 5, 2022 – A team of Greenberg Traurig, LLP litigators led by Shareholders Daniel Pulecio-Boek and James E. Gillenwater secured the release of Samir Handal, a Miami-based Haitian and U.S. real estate developer, from a Turkish prison and facilitated his return to the United States.
Handal has been baselessly accused by Haiti of having a role in the July 7, 2021 assassination of then President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise.
“We are pleased that the rule of law prevailed and that Samir, who is innocent of these accusations, is beyond the reach of Haitian prosecution,” said Pulecio-Boek, a Litigation Practice shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office. “We are now considering seeking relief against the parties who sought to implicate Samir in this horrific crime.”
On Nov. 15, 2021, Handal boarded a flight from Miami to Palestine to visit his mother with the belief that he was free to travel internationally. However, during a layover in Istanbul, Turkey, Handal was arrested because Haiti had issued an arrest warrant for him and Interpol issued a Red Notice based on Haiti’s arrest warrant. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. Haiti then filed an extradition petition with Turkey.
Greenberg Traurig attorneys were retained by Handal’s Miami-based family at that point and worked with legal counsel in Turkey to deploy a multifaceted strategy to have Handal released and returned to the United States.
In a rare victory, Greenberg Traurig convinced Interpol to suspend the Red Notice for Handal pending a final decision on its cancellation.
They also filed a complaint against Haiti regarding the matter with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
In addition, the team launched U.S. discovery proceedings and travelled to Turkey and Haiti to develop key evidence showing Handal’s innocence.
This evidence was used by Greenberg Traurig’s Turkish counsel in Handal’s extradition defense and given to Interpol to cancel the Red Notice.
Eventually, on July 5, 2022, the team prevailed and convinced the Turkish judge to deny Haiti’s extradition petition. The denial of the extradition plus INTERPOL’s suspension of the Red Notice, ensured that the client could safely return to the United States.
Other Greenberg Traurig attorneys assisting in the matter were Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Miami Litigation Shareholder Benjamin G. Greenberg, and Miami Litigation Associates Gabriel A. Diaz and Carlos Haag.