- guapinolresiste
Guapinol: 75+ orgs call for freedom after 2 years of arbitrary detention in #Honduras
At 2 years after arbitrary detention, organizations demand freedom for the 8 water defenders from Guapinol and Sector San Pedro in Honduras.
August 17, 2021
Honorable Rolando Argueta, President, Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras
CC: Honorable Criminal Chamber, Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras
Ref: Request for extension of the pre-trial detention of the environmental defenders of Guapinol and Sector San Pedro: Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz, José Abelino Cedillo Cantarero, José Daniel Márquez Márquez, Kelvin Alejandro Romero Martínez, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbin Nahuan Hernández, Arnol Javier Alemán and Jeremías Martínez.
Dear President of the Honorable Supreme Court of Justice and honorable members of the Criminal Chamber:
Cordial greetings on behalf of the institutions and organizations that we have followed with attention and concern the facts related to the reprisals taken against legitimate protest exercised by the Committee for the Defense of the Common and Public Goods of Tocoa. These reprisals include the prosecution and prolonged arbitrary detention of eight environmental defenders belonging to the Committee.
On August 26 of this year, the legal period of two years of preventive detention expires for the eight environmental defenders belonging to the Committee, detained since August 26, 2019 for the crimes of "aggravated arson" and "unjust deprivation of liberty".
In view of the end of the pre-trial detention period, on June 11, 2021, the Public Prosecutor's Office, through Prosecutor Humberto José Gonzáles Herrera, filed before the Sentencing Court of Trujillo a request for a detailed record on the date since which the eight human rights defenders have been serving the pre-trial detention measure, as well as the current status of the case, in order to request on July 29 before the honorable Sentencing Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice the extension of pre-trial detention for the defendants, pending the holding of the oral and public trial. The legal team of the defense filed two briefs with legal grounds to oppose this request, first before the CSJ on August 10 and a second brief before the Criminal Chamber on August 12.
With this letter, we respectfully request that the extension of pre-trial detention requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office be denied and that the eight defendants be able to continue the criminal proceedings in freedom.
The organizations signing this letter recall that in its Opinion number 85/2020 adopted on November 26, 2020, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention established that the deprivation of liberty of Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz, José Abelino Cedillo Cantarero, José Daniel Márquez Márquez, Kelvin Alejandro Romero Martínez, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbin Nahuan Hernández, Arnol Javier Alemán and Jeremías Martínez is arbitrary, inasmuch as:
91. The Working Group stresses that, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant, the presumption of innocence and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law must be respected, which was clearly violated in this case. Furthermore, the source has established and the Government has not denied that the automatic preventive detention was applied to the eight defenders, which contravenes the right to the presumption of innocence, as well as article 9, paragraph 3, of the Covenant in accordance with general comment No. 3518. Moreover, the Working Group notes that the accused have been detained under this regime well beyond the time allowed by law and international provisions, the source having insisted that the judicial decision decreeing pretrial detention lacks due motivation to justify its application;
92. Furthermore, the Working Group notes that the court has not responded to the frequent requests for appeal and habeas corpus that have been filed, especially at a time when the defendants' health was at risk due to insalubrity and lack of care. The eight defenders were deprived of their right to an effective judicial remedy;
93. The Working Group concludes that the source has presented a credible and clear case about the violation of the elements guaranteeing a fair trial for the eight defenders, including the violation of their rights to equal treatment before the law, of the guarantee of non-discrimination and of the independence of the courts in following the cases brought against them;[1] 93.
For all these reasons, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention urged the State of Honduras to take urgent measures to guarantee the immediate release of the eight human rights defenders, to grant them the effective right to obtain both compensation and the necessary reparation for the violation of their rights, and to adopt the appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights.
Furthermore, in the context of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the deprivation of liberty of the eight defenders poses a serious risk to their health and physical integrity in contravention of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (known as the Nelson Mandela Rules), especially with regard to persons detained or awaiting trial. In this context, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in its Resolution 1/2020 Pandemic and Human Rights in the Americas recommended to its member states: :
45. Adopt measures to address the overcrowding of prison units, including the reevaluation of pretrial detention cases to identify those that can be converted into alternative measures to imprisonment, giving priority to populations with higher health risks in the event of COVID-19 contagion.
In line with the opinion issued by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, as well as with the recommendations made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the undersigned organizations of this letter call upon this honorable Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice to, in the exercise of its functions and with due respect for judicial independence, consider declaring the extension of preventive detention for the eight defendants to be unjustified and order the change of precautionary measure so that the defendants can continue the case against them in freedom, guaranteeing their rights to due process and to a fair and impartial trial.
[1] United Nations, Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its 89th session, November 23-27, 2020. Opinion No. 85/2020, concerning José Daniel Márquez, Kelvin Alejandro Romero Martínez, José Abelino Cedillo, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbín Nahúm Hernández, Arnold Javier Alemán, Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz and Jeremías Martínez Díaz (Honduras).
[2] Organization of American States, Resolution 1/2020 of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Christliche Initiative Romero e.V.
Alemania
Informationsgruppe Lateinamerika-IGLA
Austria
Red europea de Comités Oscar Romero
Bélgica
University of Guelph
Canada
Comité por los derechos humanos en America latina
Canadá
Colectiva Chancha Negra
Costa Rica
Frente Amplio
Costa Rica
Universidad Nacional
Costa Rica
Fundación Alboan
España
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
España
Justice in Mining Network
España
Entrepueblos-Entrepobles-Entrepobos-Herriarte
Estado español
Alianza Americas
Estados Unidos
Bay Area chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
Estados Unidos
Casa de Misericordia
Estados Unidos
Centro de Recursos Centroamericano (CARECEN-LA)
Estados Unidos
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, CISPES
Estados Unidos
Conference for Mercy Higher Education
Estados Unidos
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
Estados Unidos
EarthRights International
Estados Unidos
Faith in Action
Estados Unidos
Harry J Bury Twin Cities Nonviolent
Estados Unidos
INation Media
Estados Unidos
Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
Estados Unidos
Latin America Task Force of Interfaith Council for Peace &Justice
Estados Unidos
Latin America Working Group
Estados Unidos
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Estados Unidos
Mercy Focus on Haiti
Estados Unidos
Mothers & Others: Justice and Mercy for Immigrants
Estados Unidos
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
Estados Unidos
Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore
Estados Unidos
Pax Christi USA
Estados Unidos
School of the Americas Watch
Estados Unidos
Servants of Mary, US/Jamaica Community Council
Estados Unidos
SHARE FOUNDATION
Estados Unidos
Sister of Mercy
Estados Unidos
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Justice Team, Washington, DC
Estados Unidos
Social Justice Chair, Congregation Sherith Israel
Estados Unidos
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Estados Unidos
University of San Francisco
Estados Unidos
Ursuline Sister of Louisville, Kentucky
Estados Unidos
Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective
Estados Unidos
Women Against Military Madness Newsletter
Estados Unidos
Dance for Joy
Estados Unidos
Dorchester Solidarity Network
Estados Unidos
Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim
Estados Unidos y Territorio Maya, Guatemala
Prensa Comunitaria
Guatemala
Asociación por la Democracia y los Derechos Humanos, ASOPODEHU
Honduras
Asonog
Honduras
Bufete Estudios para la Dignidad.
Honduras
Bufete Justicia para los Pueblos
Honduras
Centro De Prevención, Tratamiento Y Rehabilitación De Las Víctimas De La Tortura Y Sus Familiares (CPTRT)
Honduras
CIPREVI
Honduras
Comite de defensa de bienes comunes y publicos
Honduras
COPINH
Honduras
Equipo Jurídico por los Derechos Humanos
Honduras
ERIC-SJ
Honduras
Hermanas de Notre Dame
Honduras
La Insurrecta
Honduras
MILPAH
Honduras
Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y la Justicia
Honduras
Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña, OFRANEH
Honduras
Pastoral Social y Ecológica
Honduras
Patronato pro mejoramiento Toronjal
Honduras
Programa Paso a Paso- Honduras
Honduras
Red Nacional de Defensoras de derechos humanos en Honduras
Honduras
Coordinadora de organizaciones Populares del Aguan , COPA
Honduras
Fundación San Alonso Rodríguez
Honduras
Parroquia San Isidro Labrador, Tocoa.
Honduras
Purificadora Comunitaria Buenos Aires
Honduras
Foro de Mujerse por la Vida
Honduras
Collettivo Italia Centro America, CICA
Italia
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT), en el marco del Observatorio para la Protección de Defensores de Derechos Humanos programa conjunto de la OMCT y de la FIDH
Internacional
FIDH, en el marco del Observatorio para la Protección de Defensores de Derechos Humanos programa conjunto de la OMCT y de la FIDH
Internacional
Iniciativa Mesoamericana de mujeres defensoras de derechos humanos
Mesoamerica
Protección Internacional Mesoamérica
Mesoamérica
El comite de solidaridad con America Latina
Noruega
Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL)
Regional
Due Process of Law Foundation
Regional
Alianza Centroamericana Frente a la Mineria
Regional
CIVICUS
Sudáfrica
Personas individuales y estudiantes de los Estados Unidos, Uruguay, Honduras