Haiti’s Court of Appeal has ordered three clergy of the Episcopal Church of Haiti, along with former government officials, to stand trial in a long-running arms trafficking case that has shadowed the church for nearly four years.

The April 28 ruling reopens a case that began with a 2022 weapons seizure at Port-au-Prince’s Caribbean Port Services terminal, where police said they found assault rifles, pistols, ammunition and counterfeit currency inside a shipping container linked to the church’s import privileges.

Those now sent to criminal court include priests Frantz Cole, Jean Madoché Vil and Fritz Désiré, along with lay defendants Jean Marie Gilles, Mamion Saint-Germain and pastor Dieuné Day. Former Minister of Economy Michel Patrick Boisvert and former religious affairs official Evens Souffrant are also among the accused.

Prosecutors allege complicity in the illegal importation and trafficking of firearms and ammunition, along with smuggling and counterfeiting charges.

The ruling follows a series of reversals in a case that has become one of Haiti’s most closely watched criminal matters. In 2023, an investigating judge dismissed charges against Church members for lack of evidence, suggesting that a criminal network may have exploited the church’s import privileges without its knowledge. The Court of Appeal later reopened the file, citing gaps in the original investigation.

The Episcopal Church of Haiti has consistently denied involvement, saying it did not order the shipment or handle customs clearance. Anglican.ink reported on April 9 that the Diocese of Haiti had demanded the release of detained clergy and lay members, saying courts had twice ordered their freedom and that the church had been caught up in a broader scheme involving forged documents and abuse of its name.

The case now moves to trial amid Haiti’s worsening security crisis, where illegal weapons have helped fuel gang violence and further weaken state authority.