PBI-Honduras accompanies sit-in at Supreme Court of Justice demanding justice in the femicide of Keyla Martinez

Published by Brent Patterson on February 10, 2025February 10, 2025

PBI-Honduras has posted:

“ Today, 4 years after the murder of Keyla Martinez, we have accompanied the sit-in in front of the Supreme Court of Justice where they have requested that the judicial authorities resolve the appeals filed.

From PBI, we emphasize the importance of achieving comprehensive justice in Keyla’s case.”

Criterio.hn reports: “During the morning of this Friday, February 7, Norma Martínez in the company of representatives of human rights organizations, appeared at the facilities of the Judiciary demanding justice for the femicide of [26-year-old] Keyla Martínez, typified as negligent homicide.”

Almost one year ago, on February 17, 2024, El Pais reported: “Norma Rodríguez, mother of Keyla Martínez … expressed her disagreement with the five-year sentence imposed on the person responsible for the murder of her daughter. …The victim’s mother regretted the sentence and said that she will continue to fight for all those responsible for her daughter’s death to be convicted in a transparent manner.”

Proceso Digital now explains: “Keyla Martínez, who was a nursing student, was arrested on the night of February 7, 2021, [during the pandemic] for violating the curfew imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She was found dead inside a cell of a police post in the municipality of La Esperanza, Intibucá.”

That article adds: “Doña Norma Rodríguez, mother of the young woman … reiterated that she did not agree with the five-year sentence imposed on her daughter’s murderer and described the Honduran judicial system as ‘rotten’.”

“The Sentencing Court of Siguatepeque convicted the police officer, Jarol Rolando Perdomo Sarmiento, for the crime of reckless homicide in its degree of commission by omission and not for aggravated femicide, as initially proposed. [Keyla’s mother] indicated that it is not only Jarol Perdomo who was involved, but also more members of the police such as Deputy Commissioner Melvin Alvarenga, Edgar Velásquez, who is supposed to be one of the main accomplices in this murder.”

We continue to follow this.

Further reading:

PBI-Honduras laments a police officer has not been sentenced in the femicide of Keyla Martinez in February 2021 (PBI-Canada, February 15, 2024).

PBI-Honduras accompanies COFADEH at trial of police officer accused in the murder of Keyla Martinez (PBI-Canada, October 18, 2022)

PBI-Honduras accompanies the Committee of Families of the Detained-Disappeared at trial in the murder of Keyla Martinez (PBI-Canada, October 3, 2022)

PBI-Honduras accompanies COFADEH at trial of police femicide of nursing student Keyla Martinez (PBI-Canada, September 26, 2022)

PBI-Honduras accompanies the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders at memorial for Keyla Martínez (PBI-Canada, February 8, 2022).