PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Oct 27, CMC – Former justice minister Edouard Junior said Friday that the safety of his family was now in the hands of President Jovenel Moise after claiming that he is being politically persecuted and prevented from leaving the country.

Junior, speaking on a radio station here, said that unknown gunmen had fired shots at his home on Thursday night and that he had also received death threats.

“From now on, my safety and that of my family are in the hands of Jovenel Moïse..,” said Junior, who served in the 2016-17 administrations of former president Jocelerme Privert and former prime minister Enex Jean-Charles.

Earlier this month, the Government Commissioner at the Court of First Instance (TPI) in Port-au-Prince, Clamé Ocname Daméus, as part of the preliminary investigation sent a letter to the Director of the Immigration and Emigration Service asking him formally to “pass the necessary instructions” so that Junior and former economy minister Yves Romain Bastien  be prohibited from leaving the country by air, sea and land.

The letter did not specify the reasons nor did it state the cases being investigated and Junior reacted by stating that he “vehemently condemns any attempt to deprive me of my freedom of movement”.

He said the move was a politically motivated revenge action, which would come from the National Palace recalling that he had once ordered investigations into allegations of money laundering against Moise.

The Office of the Presidency said it rejects all allegations of involvement in the decision of the Government Commissioner.

Meanwhile, the Fanmi Lavalas political party and the group “Pitit Dessalin” have announced new dates for street demonstrations as they continue their protests to get Moise out of office.

They said the demonstrations will take place on October 30, 31 and November 1 in the capital, the metropolitan area and several other cities.

The opposition parties have been calling for Moise removal claiming that the measures contained in the 2018 national budget were against the welfare of the population and contained too many taxes.