URGENT ACTION
Indigenous leaders face unjust charges
Three Honduran
indigenous leaders face unfounded charges in relation to their actions as human
rights defenders. A hearing is scheduled to take place on 12 September. If they
are imprisoned, Amnesty International will consider them prisoners of
conscience.
Bertha Cáceres, Tomás Gómez and Aureliano Molina are facing unfounded criminal charges for the
alleged crimes of usurpation, coercion and continued damages (usurpación, coacción y daños continuados)
against a company running a hydro-electric power project on indigenous land.
They are also accused of inciting others to commit these crimes. Based on their testimonies and the
information received from various sources, including from the authorities,
Amnesty International believes they are being criminalized in reprisal for
their leadership and human rights work in defence of the Lenca indigenous
people.
Bertha
Cáceres is the general coordinator of the Civic Council of the Indigenous and
Popular Organizations of Honduras (Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e
Indígenas de Honduras COPINH), and well-known for her work promoting the human
rights of the Lenca indigenous people in north-western Honduras. Tomás Gómez and Aureliano
Molina are also members of COPINH, community leaders, human rights defenders
and work for community radio stations La Voz Lenca and Guarajanbala.
COPINH
has been active since 1993, fighting for higher standards of living for the
Lenca indigenous people and defending rights to territory, natural resources
and the environment. The Lenca indigenous communities of Río Blanco and Santa Barbara department
have been demonstrating since April against a hydro-electric power project. The
project is situated on the land where they have lived for centuries and the
community say they did not give free, prior or informed consent. In July the
army opened fire during a peaceful demonstration by COPINH, killing indigenous
leader Tomás Garcia and wounding his teenage son.
Amnesty
International has previously expressed concerns regarding misuse of the justice
system to prevent, restrict or punish these three leaders for their defence of
human rights. Despite receiving written responses, Amnesty International
believes the authorities have not adequately addressed concerns.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your
own language:
n
Urging the authorities to cease all unfounded
criminal proceedings against Bertha Cáceres, Tomás Gómez and Aureliano Molina
in light of their legitimate role as human rights defenders;
n
Stating that Bertha Cáceres, Tomás Gómez and
Aureliano Molina will be considered prisoners of conscience if they are imprisoned.
PLEASE SEND
APPEALS BEFORE 24 OCTOBER 2013 TO:
President
Porfirio
Lobo Sosa
Casa
Presidencial, Barrio Las Lomas
Boulevard Juan Pablo II
Tegucigalpa
Honduras
Boulevard Juan Pablo II
Tegucigalpa
Honduras
Fax +504 2290 5088
Attorney General
Oscar Chinchilla Banegas
Ministerio
Público, Lomas del Guijarro
Avenida
República Dominicana
Edificio
Lomas Plaza II
Tegucigalpa,
Honduras
Fax: +504 2221 5667
Twitter: @MP_Honduras
Salutation:
Dear Attorney General / Sr
Fiscal General de la República
Salutation:
Dear President / Sr Presidente
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your
country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above
date.
URGENT
ACTION
Indigenous leaders face unjust charges
ADditional Information
Following the killing of Tomás García and
the wounding of his son Allan García Domínguez in July, Amnesty issued an
Urgent Action asking for an investigation and protection for COPINH leaders and
demonstrators. According to reports, one soldier is currently under
investigation for the incident. See UA
188/13
On 13 June Amnesty International wrote to
the Honduran Office of the General Prosecutor regarding a criminal case brought
against Bertha Cáceres and Tomás Gómez for allegedly carrying an unlicensed gun
in the back of a pickup truck. This
incident occurred in the context of ongoing demonstrations against the
hydro-electric dam at Agua Zarca, Río Blanco when two COPINH leaders were
travelling to the site and were stopped at an army checkpoint. According to
Bertha Cáceres’ testimony, the gun was planted by the military officers during
the search. The trial against Bertha Cáceres is ongoing, while charges were
dropped against Tomás Gómez. Amnesty International expressed concern that this
was a misuse of the justice system used to prevent, restrict or punish
legitimate activities for the defence of human rights.
Amnesty
International has documented a pattern of abuses against those who defend human
rights in the Americas,
including the misuse of the justice system to restrict or punish legitimate
actions. For more
information, see Transforming Pain Into
Hope: Human Rights Defenders in the Americas: AMR 01/006/2012, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR01/006/2012/en.
In
Honduras,
Amnesty International has documented an increase in the number of death threats
and attacks against community leaders, human rights defenders and journalists,
as affirmed in the above mentioned regional report. As stated in the UN Resolution
adopted by the Human Rights Council in March 2013 on the protection of human
rights defenders (A/HRC/22/L.13), there is an urgent need: “…to address and to
take concrete steps to prevent and stop, the use of legislation to hinder or
limit unduly the ability of human rights defenders to exercise their work…” The
report also calls upon States to ensure that “procedural safeguards, including
in criminal cases against human rights defenders, are in place in accordance
with international human rights law in order to avoid the use of unreliable
evidence, unwarranted investigations and procedural delays, thereby effectively
contributing to the expeditious closing of all unsubstantiated cases…”
The
right to free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous People is enshrined in
the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and International Labour
Organization (169) Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
in Independent Countries, ratified by Honduras in 1995. Honduras has
the responsibility to consult and to obtain the free, prior and informed
consent from Indigenous Peoples before undertaking measure affecting their
lands and natural resources.
Name: Bertha
Cáceres (f), Tomás Gómez (m) and Aureliano Molina (m)
Gender m/f:
both
UA: 244/13
Index: AMR 37/012/2013 Issue Date: 12 September 2013
