Six Honduran environmentalists have been found guilty of crimes against a mining company, in a case widely condemned by legal and human rights experts.
The activists, from the small community of Guapinol, have been held in pre-trial detention for two and a half years after opposing an iron oxide mine which has polluted rivers relied upon by thousands of people.
The huge open-pit mine, which is owned by one of the country’s most powerful couples, sits inside a protected national park in Tocoa, a municipality in the country’s northern Colón department. It was sanctioned without community consultation in a process mired by irregularities, according to international experts.
On Wednesday, in a two-to-one divided decision, the court ruled that José Márquez, Kelvin Romero Martínez, José Abelino Cedillo, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbín Nahúm Hernández, and Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz were guilty of criminal damage and illegal detention of the company’s security chief. Two men, Arnold Alemán and Jeremías Martínez, were absolved of the same charges.
Amnesty International, which considers the Guapinol environmentalists to be prisoners of conscience, described the verdict as “outrageous”.
“The defenders are victims of arbitrary detention and unfounded criminal prosecution, stemming solely from their legitimate work defending the right to water and a healthy environment in Honduras,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.
“It’s extremely serious that, despite the lack of diligence in the investigations by the public prosecutor’s office, six of the Guapinol prisoners of conscience are facing prison sentences.”
Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said she was “appalled”, especially given Honduras last month took its seat the UN human rights council.
“Honduras has yet again stained its record by not adhering to agreed international obligations. The conviction of the six Guapinol defenders should be quashed,” she said.
The defence intends to seek an amnesty for the convicted men, through a controversial law just passed by the new president.
Defence lawyer Edy Tabora said: “All eight men are innocent. The prosecutors failed to provide any evidence of a crime, never mind their participation in any activity that could be considered a crime. This is a political verdict that demonstrates the power of economic elites in this country.”
Honduras became one of the most dangerous countries in the world to defend natural resources and land rights after the 2009 coup ushered in an autocratic pro-business government, which remained in power until last month.
Since then, hundreds of defenders have been killed, harassed and jailed on trumped-up criminal charges.
The highest-profile victim was the indigenous defender Berta Cáceres, who was assassinated in March 2016 after suffering years of threats and harassment linked to her opposition to an internationally funded dam.
The Guapinol case dates back to 2011, when the Botaderos mountain was declared a national park by Congress, mandating protection of water sources which serve more than 42,000 people, including the Guapinol river.
Yet the following year, Congress reduced the park’s no-development zone to accommodate the mine, owned by Lenir Pérez, a businessman previously accused of human rights violations, and Ana Facussé, daughter of the late palm oil magnate Miguel Facussé, a major political powerbroker who before his death in 2015 was accused of land grabs, violent repression and links with drug traffickers.
Over the next few years, mining permits were issued and road construction began – even as communities filed legal complaints, held protests and pleaded with officials to protect the rivers. The tap water in Guapinol turned chocolate brown and thick with muddy sediment; children began suffering from diarrhoea, while some adults reported skin complaints.
On 7 September 2018, one young protester was shot and seriously injured when scores of armed security guards working for the mine attempted to evict the protest camp. The incident was never investigated, but judicial authorities issued arrest warrants for some of the protesters.
Wednesday’s ruling comes after a trial beset by delays and irregularities, in which international observers including the US National Lawyers Guild criticised the flimsy evidence presented by the prosecution, as well as judicial bias in favor of the mining company.
The company Inversiones Los Pinares did not immediately respond for comment on the verdict.
Gabriela Soto, whose father is among the six men convicted, said that the community would continue to defend the rivers. “We are going to continue stronger, and resist harder in this struggle.”
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 23 February. The men face prisoner terms of eight to 14 years.
