PBI-Honduras at delivery of petition demanding an investigation into the intellectual authors of the murder of Berta Cáceres

On February 10, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted, “On the third of this month we attended in front of the Public Ministry in Tegucigalpa the meeting convened by COPINH to different national and international organizations in which more than 1000 signatures were presented demanding justice for the Berta case and the follow-up of the investigation to reach the intellectual authors of her murder.”

On February 4, COPINH tweeted, “About 1000 signatures of national and international organizations and people around the world were handed over to the Attorney General demanding that the Atala Zablah family be investigated intellectual authors of the crime against #BertaCáceres.”

The text of the petition that was presented can be read here.

The petition states:

“We demand that the State of Honduras advance the prosecution of David Castillo, whose preliminary hearing has been suspended on three occasions by his legal defense. Likewise, we demand that progress be made as soon as possible in the investigative inquiry and judicial proceedings against the other intellectual authors linked to the crime, who currently remain unpunished. The State of Honduras must act diligently against intellectual authors as it has promoted its action against material authors.”

“We also urge the State of Honduras to revoke the concession of the sacred Gualcarque River, sacred to the Lenca world view. Bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) have identified as the concession as the main source of risk to the life and integrity of the Lenca people and the COPINH communities.”

On December 2, 2019, The Guardian reported on the sentencing of the four paid hitmen and three others involved in the murder of Caceres.

At that time of the sentencing, Bertita Zúñiga, Cáceres’ second-eldest daughter, told the newspaper, “These sentences are a start in breaking the impunity, but we’re going to make every effort to ensure that all those responsible – the company executives and state officials identified in the trial – are prosecuted.”

In terms of the intellectual authors of the crime, she has also commented in the media, “There is only one case open – which has also been extremely delayed – and that is of David Castillo, the president of the company. However, for us, David Castillo is a minor and in fact, the weakest representative of the powerful people that took the decision and economically lent support to this crime.”

On February 3, at the time of the delivery of the petition, COPINH tweeted, “Daniel Atala Midence, José Eduardo Atala, Pedro Atala and Jacobo Atala are still walking calmly, without any consequence for having driven and decided the execution of the crime that was trying to stop the struggle of Berta Cáceres and COPINH.”

PBI-Honduras began accompanying COPINH in May 2016.