Political Prisoners and More Criminalization

A member of La Voz de los de Abajo was in Honduras in August 2019 - This article is the second report from that visit with some  more recent updates as of September 27, 2019

Political Prisoners and More Criminalization in Honduras
by V. Cervantes

On the morning of August 21, I was at a meeting of the National Committee to Free the Political Prisoners (Comite Nacional para la Libertad de los Presos Politicos) in the offices of the Honduran human rights organization COFADEH.  The members celebrated the arrival to the meeting of political prisoners Raul Alvarez and Edwin Espinal.  Edwin and Raul  had been released from pre-trial imprisonment from the notorious maximum security, military controlled prison La Tolva on August 11 and August 16 respectively. Their release came after many months of pressure both in court and in the street. The first week of August, Edwin, Raul and Rommel Herrera another political prisoner,  launched a hunger strike that was echoed by a rolling hunger strike of leaders and activists from the social movements and political opposition in Honduras; international solidarity and human rights organizations supported the strike demanding freedom for the political prisoners with a major social media campaign.

The celebration was real but dampened by news that another political prisoner being held in prison in the city of Progreso. Gustavo Caceres, had been denied release from pre-trial detention  at a hearing that morning. There had been optimism that after Edwin and Raul were released, Gustavo would also get bail. Gustavo's case is especially disturbing because he has a significant cognitive disability and cannot speak in whole sentences only words and fragments.  He supported his family selling water and was selling water near a protest  in Progreso when the police arrested him as they swept through the neighborhood. The police took him to a police station and then they pulled out police equipment and marijuana and claimed that he had "stolen" police equipment and marijuana in his possession when they arrested him.

The Committee was fired up, talking about how to step up organizing to free, once and for all, all the political prisoners being held, and to pressure for permanent freedom for the approximately 171 people still facing charges and trials from the protests after the election fraud of November 2017. They also talked about the newer arrests and ongoing criminalization of protest. The mother of a new political prisoner, Rommel Herrera, was at the  Committee meeting;  Rommel is the young (23) teacher being held pre-trial in  La Tolva related to the burning of some tires in the doorway of the U.S. Embassy during on of the massive protests in defense of public education and health in Tegucigalpa on May 31, 2019. The Committee planned a press conference, a statement and other activities; but things were about to get even more difficult.

JOH Strikes Back - More Imprisonment and Prosecutions
Only a week after the August 21st Committee meeting,  Edwin and Raul got the news that the government prosecutor was appealing their release from pre-trial detention. If the government wins the appeal, Edwin and Raul will end up back in prison awaiting their trials which are currently scheduled for late Spring 2020.

 At the same time in late August another group of people with arrest warrants related to protests against a mining project and destruction of water resources in the community of Guapinol in Colon turned themselves in to the police. An earlier group had done the same last February and finally had the charges removed after an international and national outcry over their criminalization.  This time, because of that victory for justice and the recent release of Edwin and Raul, many people thought that the 7 Guapinol  activists would spend a few days in jail  and then their hearing would result in releasing them to await a future trial date - if the charges were pursued.   It is  another sign of the increasingly vicious dictatorship that on September 2 the 7 were ordered to be held in prison until trial. Then, the ruling of the judge to hold them in a regular Honduran prison was countermanded by the government, and all 7 were transferred to La Tolva. On September 26th Rommel had his appeal denied so he continues to be held in La Tolva awaiting trial.

The first week of September protests broke out over a planned luxury housing development given permission to build in the temperate rainforest nature reserve near Tegucigalpa,  La Tigra. The development would destroy acres of the reserve, and have consequences for the water supply (already in short supply) for Tegucgialpa and nearby communities -- police responded to the protests with live ammunition.

In another case, also in September, 18 students had charges reinstated by the government for protests after the 2017 election fraud during 2018 - the charges had been inactivated earlier. The student movement continues to be the subject of an especially harsh repression, criminalization,  and a campaign of slander and derision by the dictatorship.

Meanwhile the web of corruption and narco-government crime is more tangled than ever. Tony Hernandez, the brother of Juan Orlando Hernandez, goes to court beginning October 1st in New York. He has been indicted and extradited, accused of running a drug cartel and even stamping the packages of cocaine with his initials. In the investigation so far, the prosecutors have included Juan Orlando as a co-conspirator (CC4). Nevertheless, the US government continues to praise Hernandez. High level meetings were held between US and Honduran officials in September in Washington DC and on September 21 in Tegucigalpa. The US persists in providing all types of support for the repressive apparatus of the corrupt and violent narco-dictatorship in Honduras in the face of ever growing rejection and resistance to the regime by the Honduran people.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras August 7, 2019 [Jorge Cabrera/Reuters] published in Aljazeera

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A Moment in Honduras: Celebrations and Threats

A Moment in Honduras: Celebrations and Threats
Report from Honduras
August 17, 2019
V. Cervantes

San Juan Pueblo August 13

As the bus entered the small town of San Juan Pueblo (SJP) on August 15th we passed a police station where an unusual crowd (more than 20) of police were hanging around.  Later, walking with a friend who lives in SJP near the highway that runs from Progreso to La Ceiba,  we saw a military style truck full of police headed in the direction of the police station.  Only a couple of days earlier on August 13th, police had opened fire on protesters blocking the highway with burning tires - the emblematic sign of protest in Honduras. Four men were injured, one very seriously with a chest wound- a few days later it was being reported among the population that one man had died. This was the second very recent violent attack against protesters in SJP, one of the centers of resistance and protest in the province of Atlantida in northern Honduras.

Campesinas from the CNTC June 10th Movement
after receiving titles to their cooperative land

One of the wounded men is part of the families of the campesino group "10 de Junio" a women's land recuperation affiliated to the campesino organization the "National Center for Rural Workers (CNTC). I was there because La Voz de los de Abajo was invited to participate in a celebration of the women winning legal title to their land after 18 YEARS of fighting for their rights to the land. La Voz has accompanied the women for more than 16 years. Many of the women had been single mothers when they recuperated the land that was originally owned by the National University of Honduras but had been left abandoned and fallow for years before the recuperation. Over the years the women had been violently evicted, insulted publicly, their crops destroyed, and their lives threatened  now they had finally won legal ownership of the land and were determined to celebrate.

Secretary General of the CNTC with 

The women organized a celebration and even though the officials from government agency the National Agrarian Institute (INA)  (responsible for distributing the titles) rewrote the celebration agenda to put themselves and the government more into the spotlight, everyone who gathered on August 16th recognized the enormous achievement of the women.  Narcisa, one of the campesinas showed me her corn field and explained that she had done an experiment, planting part of the field with corn and a bean plant that is thought to fertilize soil and another part with only the corn. The field planted with the bean and corn was much more productive and she talked about how much she loves agriculture and what having a legal title to the land after so many years means for the women. Many of the women were joined by their grandchildren and children in receiving the titles and for photos.  There was music, lots of food and the most important speeches of the day came from the campesinas themselves who recounted the difficult 18 years, the importance of their being organized, and dennounced the criminalization and violence against the campesino movement for so many years.

On the same day, August 16th there was more to celebrate as a second political prisoner, Raul Alvarez was released from pre-trial detention in the maximum security military run prison, La Tolva. Raul and Edwin Espinal were imprisoned after participating in a militant protest in January 2018 against the installation of the fraudulent and violent dictatorship of Juan Orlando Hernandez. After 18 months of imprisonment they were released and will be preparing for their trials outside prison.

Free! Political Prisoners Edwin Espinal and Raul Alvarez
with Karen and Janet Spring - August 16, 2019

The night of August 15th my friend from the CNTC June 10th Movement and I walked around her neighborhood  where there have been many protest  road blocks and where the police have blanketed the area with tear gas and beaten and shot at protesters. It was a pretty quiet night and people were outside relaxing, but the stress of the weeks of repression and protest were showing. At around 9 pm we heard and saw fireworks being shot into the sky a ways from the neighborhood by the time we got home we could hear the sound of tear gas bombs being launched. A neighbor asked my friend if she had any vinegar in case the police tear gassed the neighborhood again and began to tear up and  become frantic. She had witnessed the police beating a man right outside her house the night of the shootings and I realized she was showing signs of traumatic stress. That night the sounds of possible conflicts died out early and the town seemed quiet, but after the campesinas' celebration, the night of the 16th, there were more protests and repression, but I was already on the road to Tegucigalpa.

Edwin and Raul still face trial (scheduled to begin in about a month). There are still 2 more political prisoners in pre-trial detention, Gustavo Caceres and Rommel Herrera.  and there are more than a hundred people facing trials for protest activity. There are also more activists at risk from  from the nearly daily protests and repressions. and from the anti-mining and defense of the territories struggles around the country such as Reitoca, Guapinol, Rio Blanco, and Vallecito,  with the government and National Party supporters threatening organizations such as MADJ, COPINH and OFRANEH. On August 17th a delegation of the Assembly of Women in Struggle was threatened in Rio Blanco and the road blocked by pro-government hired thugs. On August 18th MADJ was the subject of a threatening tweet calling on the government to arrest their leaders and  activists (a list of their names was included) because of the many protests in San Juan Pueblo.

Honduran resistance organizations and leaders are calling for unity against the dictatorship and for a plan to unite the social movements into a force that can make deeper change in the country once JOH is gone.
More to come...

Report from Emergency HR Delegation on Criminalization and Political Prisoners

March 26 - April 2, 2019La Voz de los de Abajo with Alliance for Global Justice and CODEPINK, all members of the Honduras Solidarity Network sent an emergency human right delegation to Honduras focused on following up on criminalization and violence since the November 2017 electoral fraud crisis began. 

We visited political prisoners, Edwin Espinal and Raúl Álvarez, indigenous and campesino communities criminalized and attacked for their struggle, human rights organizations, families and supporters of murdered and criminalized journalists. 

LINK TO REPORT IN ENGLISH- El informe en español estará publicado pronto.

Support for political prisoners  and against criminalization of
protest at a vigil in front of the US Embassy

Nacaome REDEHSUR human rights defenders with delegation after a vigil
for assassinated journalist Gabriel Hernandez

Two of the three political prisoners being held pre-trial in prisons
Edwin and Raúl 

Report from Honduras April 2018 Delegation

In April 2018, La Voz de los de Abajo and Alliance for Global Justice, both members of the Honduras Solidarity Network, led a delegation to Honduras concerned about the political prisoners and ongoing human rights crisis.

Here is the link to the final report from the delegation.

Meeting with political prisoner
foto by Dunia Perez

ALERT! Edwin Espinal arrested for participation in protests against the dictatorship

COPINH denounces arrest of prominent Honduran activist Edwin Espinal, captured for his participation in protests against the dictatorship

[Original en español]

Tonight, while driving home, compañero Edwin Espinal was captured by members of the police along the Fuerzas Aramadas Boulevard in Tegucigalpa for his participation in the protests days before against the imposition of fraud and dictatorship by Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH).

Edwin Espinal is a well-known figure in the struggle against the dictatorial regime imposed since the 2009 coup d'etat in Honduras. His capture stems from orders by JOH the dictator to repress, demonize and criminalize the dignified protest of  people who oppose the imposition of violence and betrayal.

Edwin's capture comes days after having been victim of a demonization campaign in social media, just like what has happened to our brothers Martín Fernández and Víctor Fernández from the Broad Movement for Justice and Dignity (MADJ), as well as Father Melo from Radio Progreso among a long list of sisters and brothers in struggle against the regime.

The actions by the JOH government seek to sew fear and consternation amongst the mobilized people, as has been demonstrated by the brutal displays of force by the military police and the illegal statements by FUSINA, trying to interfere with the basic right to protest.

Nonetheless, the strength of our cry as a Honduran people against the illegality and illegitimacy of JOH is clear and we are sure that nobody will rest until he falls.

While JOH's spurious electoral tribunal certifies his illegal victory, they capture and criminalize compatriots who struggle for truth and dignity.

They use an iron fist against the people, but for foreign interests they kneel down as low as they can.

COPINH demands Edwin Espinal be released immediately and holds the Honduran state accountable.

We call on the national and international community to denounce these actions of criminalization along with the series of assassinations, aggressions, campaigns of stigmatization and brutal repression by the state against a mobilized people.

COPINH calls for a deepening of national mobilization against fraud and dictatorship.

The more they repress, the more we struggle and organize.

January 19th, 2018.

With the ancestral strength of Berta, Lempira, Mota and Etempica our voices rise, full of life, justice, dignity, freedom and peace!

56 International Organizations Denounce Human Rights Abuses Against Chavelo Morales

el ingles sigue abajo

56 Organizaciones Internacionales Denuncian Violaciones de DDHH en Contra Chabelo Morales

20 Marzo 2014

John Kerry, Secretario del Estado de EE.UU

Julie Ciccarone, Director de Misiones, USAID Honduras

Amanda Johnson Miller, Oficial de Derechos Humanos, Embajada de EE.UU, Honduras

Juan Orlando Hernandez, Presidente, Honduras

Rigoberto Chang Castillo, El Ministerio de Derechos Humanos, Justicia, Gobernabilidad y

Descentralización, Honduras

Abogado Jorge Alberto Revira Avilés, Magistrado Presidente de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, Honduras

Ramón Antonio Sabillón Pineda, Director de la Policía Nacional de Honduras

Óscar Fernando Chinchilla Banegas, Fiscal General, Honduras

Estimados señores:

La carta adjunta, firmada por 56 organizaciones de derechos humanos y justicia social, tiene por motivo la niega de justicia, otra vez de nuevo, a José Isabel Morales López. Es una denuncia de los procedimientos judiciales de febrero y las acciones de:

• El Fiscal José Reynaldo Canales, del Ministerio Público de Trujillo, Colón, Honduras por su conducta indebida como fiscal y manipulación de la corte.

• Los Jueces del Tribunal de Trujillo y La Ceiba: Carol Jacqueline Ortega, Luis Alberto Juárez, y Ricardo Geovany Rodríguez, todos culpables de conducta judicial indebida durante el transcurso del enjuiciamiento.

• Los Jueces de la Corte de Apelaciones de La Ceiba: Dilia Iracema Guillén, Garin Enoc Urquía y Rubenia Esperanza Galeano, todos los cuales, juntos con los jueces ya nombrados, violaron las órdenes de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Honduras.

• Finalmente, el Sub Comisionado de la Policía Nacional de Honduras en el departamento de Olancho, Henry Osorto Canales quien cometió el crimen de perjurio en la corte con impunidad además de sus acciones de intimidación, amenazas y abuso de autoridad como miembro de la Policía Nacional.

Como defensores de los derechos humanos, estamos indignados por estos abusos de autoridad de los antemencionados miembros del sistema judicial de Honduras, y el ambiente de impunidad en lo cual ellos han podido operar en violación de los derechos de José Isabel Morales López, un campesino de la región del Aguán en el norte de Honduras y un preso político reconocido por organizaciones de derechos humanos en todo el mundo.

Hacemos un llamado por la libertad inmediata de José Isabel Morales López. Exigimos una

investigación completa de las violaciones de derechos humanos y las irregularidades judiciales en el entorno del enjuiciamiento además de las amenazas y el hostigamiento en contra de la familia y la comunidad. Además exigimos el cese de todo tipo de ayuda militar, policiaca y de seguridad hasta que haya un fin de las violaciones de derechos humanos en Honduras, en particular la ayuda de los Estados Unidos a la Policía Nacional y el financiamiento de USAID al Ministerio Público por razón de los abusos continuos que están siendo cometidos.

56 International Organizations Denounce Human Rights Abuses Against Chavelo Morales

The attached letter, signed by 56 human rights and social justice organizations, is motivated by the denial of justice, once again, to José Isabel Morales Lopez. It is a denunciation of the February judicial proceedings and actions of:

·       The Public Prosecutor, Jose Reynaldo Canales, from the Ministerio Publico in Trujillo, Colon, Honduras who exhibited prosecutorial misconduct and manipulation of the court

·       The Judges of the Tribunal of Trujillo and La Ceiba: Carol Jaqueline Ortega, Luis Alberto Juárez, and Ricardo Geovany Rodríguez, all of whom exhibited judicial misconduct during the course of a trial

·       The Judges from the Court of Appeals in La Ceiba: Dilia Iracema Guillén, Garin Enoc Urquía y Rubenia Esperanza Galeano, all of whom, together with the above named judges, violated orders from the Supreme Court of Honduras

·       And finally, the Sub-Commissioner of the National Police in the Department of Olancho, Henry Osorto Canales who perjured himself in court with impunity as well as having a history of intimidation, threats and abuse of authority as a member of the National Police.

As human rights defenders, we are outraged by these abuses of authority of the aforementioned members of the justice system of Honduras, and the environment of impunity in which they are able to operate in violating the rights of Jose Isabel Morales Lopez, a peasant farmer from the Aguán region of Northern Honduras and a recognized political prisoner by Human Rights organizations around the world.

We call for the immediate liberty of José Isabel Morales Lopez. We demand a full investigation into the human rights violations and judicial irregularities surrounding the trial as well as the threats and intimidation against the family and community. We further demand that all police, military and security aid be cut until human rights violations end, specifically the continued aid by the United States to the National Police and USAID funding to the Ministerio Publico given the ongoing abuses being perpetrated.

Free Chavelo - New Video -

José Isabel Morales "Chavelo" is a Political Prisoner from Honduras he is a peasant activist from the Peasant Movement of Aguan (MCA) in the Aguán Valley
Free Chavelo from Alexy Lanza on Vimeo.

Chavelo belongs to the community of Guadalpe Carney in the province of Colon, Honduras.
He is in prison for his involvement in the agrarian struggle in defense of the land. He is a member of a peasant cooperative in the Aguan.  The name of the cooperative is Saint Mary of the Angels. Chavelo has been in prison since October 17, 2008 without any evidence of committing a crime. he was captured without having any evidence. On June 25, 2010 Chavelo was declared guilty of murder. On July 24, 2012 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Visite una nueva pagina para Chavelo - Visit the new website for Chavelo
http://freechavelo.wordpress.com

URGENT ACTION for Chavelo: Sign the Petition  ACCION URGENTE: Peticion
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/We_Demand_a_Retrial_and_Freedom_for_Honduran_Political_Prisoner_Chavelo_Morales/?cpeXOab

José Isabel "Chavelo" Morales Sentenced to Twenty Years

Chavelo Morales, political prisoner and campesino activist, member of the Guadalupe Carney community in the Aguan Valley was sentenced to 20 years in prison on July 24 without he or his lawyers being notified that the sentencing was scheduled. Chavelo has been in  prison since 2008, he was convicted despite a lack of any evidence against him, of homicide related to a confrontation that occurred after private armed guards attacked the Guadalupe Carney community in August, 2008. He was held for nearly 3 years without sentencing which also kept him in legal limbo since no appeal of the conviction could be filed until sentencing. More than 30 campesinos from the community have open arrest warrants related to the 2008 events based on no evidence other than their residence in the community. One of the campesinos, Genaro Reyes, was arrested last month by police in Tocoa and is awaiting court procedures under house arrest. The harshness of Chavelo's sentence and the continued pressure on community members reflects the fact that Chavelo and the community of Guadalupe Carney are   symbols of the organized campesinos in Aguan. The big landowners and agro-oligarchs have used all their influence to keep Chavelo imprisoned to limit his access to legal remedies and to intimidate community members. 

Communique and Action in Support of Campesino Activist Prisoner: Chavelo Morales

La Voz de los de Abajo has signed on to the action in support of compañero Chavelo - for interviews and more information about Chavelo see our past blog posts. At the end of the following communique from Honduras are the addresses and phone numbers where you can take action.

To the Appeals Court in La Ceiba

To the Honduran Government

To the Honduran People and to International Solidarity

The people and organizations that support this communique believe in the necessity for the impartiality of justice and its fulfillment for all human society and for Honduran society in particular. We consider that it is part of our struggle to denounce situations of human rights violations and aggression against the liberty of people and of national organizations. For this reason we are speaking on the case of our compañero José Isabel Morales López of the Campesino Movement of Aguan (MCA), a prisoner for more than three years in the prison of El Porvenir in La Ceiba.

In 2008 as a result of the struggle for land in the zone of Aguan compañero Morales Löpez was detained and accused of ten assassinations, attempted murder, a homicide, aggravated robbery and aggravated arson. Finally he was condemned for a homicide, but to date and despite the fact that the final verdict was given on June 25, 2010, his sentencing has still not occurred. During the court proceeding irregularities were apparent among others the fact that the witnesses against him had contradictions in their stories and changed their testimony from previous versions.

On the other hand the illegality of preventative imprisonment is evident, according to the regulations established by the Penal Process Code, it can only last, at a maximum, for two years;if no sentence has been given in that period of time, imprisonment must be replaced by other measures (medidas cautelares) And, as we have reiterated, the fact that as of this moment no sentence has been given is shameful and alarming.

Based on these circumstances the defense lawyers of compañero Morales López have on three occasions solicited the substituion of preventative imprisonment from the sentencing Tribunal and on three occasions it has been denied. They also filed a habeas corpus to the Constitutional Court (Sala de lo Constitucional) for it to declare the illegality of deprivation of liberty, given that the limits established by the law have already been exceeded. This (habeas corpus) was declared to be without standing seven months after the filing.

During his incarceration he was denied permission to attend the funerals of his daughter and his father, who died at different times. His health during his imprisonment has been damaged by an accident that caused the loss of an eye, and his state of emotional health is gravely affected by the series of events and conditions described above.

Due to all of this and more, we are completely in solidarity with José Isabel Morales López, compañero Chavelo, a fighter for the land for the rights of the Honduran campesinos.

We denounce the Court of Appeals in which the appeals are held, the same appeals that have not been resolved due to one of the appeals having been presented during the trial and it is precisely its lack of resolution that has impeded the sentencing.

We hold the judicial apparatus of the country responsibly for the violations of human rights and the denial of access to justice for José Isabel Morales López.

We demand immediate freedom for José Isabel Morales López

• MOVIMIENTO CAMPESINO DEL AGUA, MCA
• CONSEJO CÍVICO DE ORGANIZACIONES POPULARES E INDÍGENAS DE HONDURAS, COPINH
• ORGANIZACIÓN FRATERNAL NEGRA HONDUREÑA, OFRANEH
• COLECTIVO ITALIA-CENTRO AMÉRICA, CICA
• INSURRECTAS AUTÓNOMAS
• EQUIPO DE REFLEXIÓN, INVESTIGACIÓN Y COMUNICACIÓN – COMPAÑÍA DE JESUS, ERIC-SJ
• COMITÉ DE FAMILIARES DE DETENIDOS DESAPARECIDOS EN HONDURAS, COFADEH
• MOVIMIENTO AMPLIO POR LA DIGNIDAD Y LA JUSTICA, MADJ

If your organization wants to sign on to this communique contact: Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras, COPINH

copinh@copinh.org

Calls and Messages calling for Chavelo’s immediate release should go to:

Abogado(Lawyer) Celino Aristides Aguilera Amador
(President of the Appeals Court in La Ceiba)

Presidente de la Corte de Apelaciones de La Ceiba Sala #1

Telefono (00504) 2441-4172 ext. 1064
Marlene Suyapa Perez Valle , (Judge) Magistrada Propietaria Ext. 1054
Carlos Eduardo Castelar (Judge) Magistrado Propietario Ext. 1061
Dianey Cruz Recarte (Judge) Magistrado Integrante Ext. 1053

Jorge Alberto Rivera Avilés, Presidente de la Corte Suprema de Justicia

Telefono: (504) 2269-3000 2269-3069 Mail: cedij@poderjudicial.gob.hn

Sr. Porfirio Lobo Sosa, Presidente de la República (President of the Republic of Honduras)

Casa Presidencial,

Boulevard Juan Pablo Segundo, Palacio José Cecilio del Valle

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Correo: pepe@pepelobopresidente.com

Fax: + 504 2239 3298

Luis Alberto Rubí

(Attorney General) Fiscal General de la República.

Fax (504) 2221-5667

Tel (504) 2221-5670 2221-3099

Mail: lrubi@mp.hn

suazog@mp.hn

Sra. Ana Pineda

(Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Human Rights)

Secretaría de Justicia y Derechos Humanos

Col. Lomas del Mayab, Ave. República de Costa Rica

Correo: anapinedah@hotmail.com

Fax: +504 22358379

Please send copies to:

Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras, COPINH

copinh@copinh.org