- Details
-
Category: Mining and Human Rights
-
Published: Monday, 24 August 2020 16:24
"Business Human Right
Legal Defense of Guapinol Water Protectors Respond to Disgraceful "Copy-Paste" Appeals Court Ruling with Constitutional Action", 24 de agosto de 2020
The eight defenders have been in pretrial jail for almost a year without ever having a solid legal reasoning as to why. A year ago this week, the defenders voluntarily appeared before the National Court to clarify their legal situation after the Los Pinares mining company and the Public Prosecutor's Office filed false charges against them. At the end of their initial hearing on September 1, 2019, Judge Lisseth Vallecillo ordered pre-trial detention despite the fact that the charges they face - aggravated arson and unjust deprivation of liberty - do not require this measure.
She reaffirmed this decision in November 2019 during a closed-door bond hearing, citing their possible involvement in a criminal network as a reason for keeping them in detention, even though the charges of illicit association they faced were clearly unfounded and were dismissed
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Regional News
-
Published: Thursday, 20 August 2020 11:37
The Court of Appeals ruling confirms Honduras as the most dangerous country for environmental defenders in the world. On August 15, members of the Committee for the Defense of the Public and Common Goods of Tocoa, in Honduras, reported in a press conference that the Court of Appeals, in the department of Francisco Morazán, overturned the ruling that dismissed charges against environmental defenders Juan Antonio López, Carlos Leonel George, Reynaldo Domínguez, José Adalí Cedillo Mendoza, and Marco Tulio Ramos.
The court also ordered the formal prosecution of the accused along with 8 other defenders who have been in preventive prison for 11 months, for the alleged crimes of aggravated arson to the detriment of the Los Pinares mining company and deprivation of liberty against Santos Corea, the head of a security company hired by the mining company.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Regional News
-
Published: Tuesday, 18 August 2020 15:15
ConexiHon
Legal Defense: Honduran Courts Rule to Sustain Political Persecution in Guapinol Case, August 17, 2020
Late last week, defense lawyers for the more than 20 environmental defenders from Tocoa, Honduras who have been criminalized by the Inversiones Los Pinares mining company and the Attorney General’s Office were notified that their appeals to dismiss the case were unsuccessful. The resolution, dated March 3, maintains the arbitrariness in the case and clearly points to politically motivated judicial persecution of local leaders and community members who have been at the forefront of environmental protection in Honduras.
The Appeals Court ruled that five more environmental defenders, in addition to the eight who are already in pretrial detention, must now face legal proceedings. The defenders voluntarily presented themselves to the courts to resolve the trumped up charges, which is sufficient legal basis for them to face their proceedings in freedom. None of the charges they face automatically required remand, which should only be applied as an exception.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Mining and Human Rights
-
Published: Monday, 17 August 2020 20:09
Democracy Now
At least 212 land and environmental defenders were murdered last year — the highest number since the group Global Witness began gathering data eight years ago. Some 40% of those killed were Indigenous peoples. We get an update from Honduras, where the Afro-Indigenous Garífuna community continues to demand the safe return of five Garífuna land defenders who were kidnapped by heavily armed men who were reportedly wearing police uniforms and forced them into three unmarked vehicles at gunpoint. This was the latest attack against the Garífuna community as they defend their territory from destructive projects fueled by foreign investors and the Honduran government. “We are in danger daily — all the leaders of the Garífuna community, all the defendants of the land in Honduras,” says Carla Garcia, international relations coordinator at the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We are breaking with convention, and this is The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
We turn now to Honduras, where preliminary hearings are set to begin today for one of the men accused of murdering the indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres, who was shot dead in her home in Honduras by hired hitmen in 2016. A judge will decide whether the case against one of the alleged killers, David Castillo, gets sent to trial.
At least 212 land and environmental defenders were murdered last year. That’s the highest number since the group Global Witness began gathering data eight years ago, looking at the world. Around 40% of those killed were Indigenous people. Colombia was the deadliest country, with 64 land and environmental defenders killed. Honduras was also high on the list.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Regional News
-
Published: Monday, 17 August 2020 13:15
Gloria Orellana - Diario Co Latino
Tatiana Oliva, from the National Alliance Against Water Privatization, considered the approval of the General Water Law to be of key importance. Especially in the context of the Health Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is plaguing the world and the country, water must be considered as a human right and the approval of a General Water Law must be ensured.
In relation to the General Water Law presented by the organizations, the Legislative Commission on the Environment and Climate Change must be receptive to it. It should not be considered valid that the governing body in water management is in private´s hands. Truthfully, this sector only defends its interests. However, the threats to water management are still in force,” Oliva affirmed.
The National Alliance Against the Privatization of Water considered the approval of the General Water Law to be of paramount importance, in view of the serious affectations experienced by citizens due to the lack of this vital resource.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Regional News
-
Published: Sunday, 09 August 2020 13:36
Deutsche Welle
According to a study from the organization Voces Desde el Territorio and backed by 300 organizations, transnational mining companies are taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to promote the industry and continue operating despite the restrictions.
Voces Desde el Territorio reviewed more than 500 notes, press releases, and mining reports that reveal that mining companies around the world ignore the threat of the pandemic and continue to operate. According to the organization, mining companies "even use the health emergency as an opportunity to cover up their blemished histories of destruction and present themselves to their workers as social actors and benefactors offering tests to detect the virus."
Read more ...
