United States: Malcolm X's family calls for the investigation into his murder to be reopened
US civil rights activist Malcolm X at a press conference in Washington, May 16, 1963. AP
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56 years after the assassination of Malcolm X, the family of the former activist requests the reopening of the investigation after new elements made public during a press conference this weekend.
Items that allegedly involve the New York Police and the FBI.
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“
Any evidence that leads to the truth about what happened must be checked seriously.
For Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X's daughters, it is now necessary to reopen the investigation into the assassination of the former civil rights activist.
These statements follow new testimony implicating the New York police and the FBI, reports our correspondent in New York,
Loubna Anaki
.
It is a letter written by a former New York police officer on his deathbed and authorized by his cousin to be released posthumously.
The text was read during the press conference attended by the daughters of Malcolm X which took place this Saturday.
Raymond Wood tells us that he was responsible for infiltrating the entourage of the charismatic black leader.
A few days before the assassination, he was reportedly ordered to trap and arrest two of the black militant's bodyguards.
Malcolm X thus found himself with reduced security the day he was scheduled to speak in Harlem, February 21, 1965. In the Audubon, a ballroom in the Washington Heights neighborhood, three men broke in and opened fire, killing Malcolm X seconds after he stepped away from the lectern where he had just delivered his speech.
The FBI remains silent
The former police officer assures that the New York police and the FBI have kept certain aspects of the case secret.
Following Saturday's press conference, Malcolm X's three daughters asked the New York prosecutor to resume the investigation.
The office of Cyrus Vance Jr said that the verification of the file was already underway.
Police said they handed over all important documents.
The FBI declined to comment on these new revelations.
"
The investigation was botched
"
Last year, a documentary series aired on Netflix,
Who Killed Malcolm X ?,
returned to the outstanding questions about the guilt of the two men convicted of the murder, including
Thomas Hagan
who admitted to shooting.
“
The investigation was botched,
” wrote
Tony Booza
, a New York police inspector
in 2011
.
A few days before his assassination, the
Guardian
recalls
,
Malcolm X had told a journalist that they were trying to kill him.
According to him, they were members of Nation of Islam, the political-religious organization of the African-American Muslim community, of which he was the spokesperson.
His house in Queens had been attacked with firebombs a week before his death.
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To (re) listen: Malcolm X: beyond masks and legends
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