Family of activist Malcolm X demands reopening of investigation

Contacted by the AFP news agency on Sunday, a spokesman for the Manhattan attorney said that the analysis of this case is “in progress”.

During a press conference, a letter was written by a former New York police officer, who passed away, accusing the New York Police Department and the FBI (the United States federal police) of complicity in the murder.

According to a cousin of his, the former policeman, who operated undercover, said, at the request of his superiors, he approached Malcolm X’s entourage and arrested two of his bodyguards a few days before the murder.

On February 21, 1965, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X’s real name, was thus deprived of the protection of his bodyguards when he appeared to speak at the Audubon salon in New York City, where he was murdered with three shots.

The former police officer, who wanted his statement to be made public only after his death, says the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the FBI have kept certain aspects of the case a secret.

In February 2020, after the transmission of a documentary on the Netflix platform – “Who Killed Malcolm X?” – Manhattan Attorney Cyrus Vance asked his teams to analyze the case to determine whether or not the investigation should be reopened.

Questioned by AFP on Sunday, New York police said they had made available to the prosecutor’s office “all files related to this case” and that the department “is ready to contribute to the analysis” of the case.

Also contacted by AFP, the FBI’s New York office did not respond.

“Anything that sheds light on the truth about this terrible tragedy must be carefully considered,” said Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X’s three daughters attending the press conference.

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