The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted on social media:
“Yesterday [January 8], we accompanied the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods and the Justice for the People Law Firm at the hearing to present evidence in the case against the alleged perpetrators of the murder of human rights defender Juan López. The judiciary scheduled the oral and public trial for June 15-26 of this year. At PBI, we reiterate the importance of advancing the investigations into the masterminds behind the crime and the mechanisms of planning, financing, and protection that allowed it to be carried out.”
López was shot dead on September 14, 2024, in Tocoa, Honduras.
Guapinol Demands Justice has shared: “Our dear colleague Juan López was a tireless defender of the rivers, mountains and forests in Honduras. He loved life and found joy in companionship and collective struggle. He fought tirelessly to end the destruction caused by illegal mining at the hands of Emco Holdings (Pinares/Ecotek) to the Carlos Escaleras National Park, and the rivers that are born there.”
And Proceso.hn has reported: “[López struggled in] defense of the Montaña de Botaderos ‘Carlos Escaleras Mejía’ National Park, opposing mining projects that threatened the water resources and common goods of the community. López had received precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) since 2023, but the Honduran state failed to provide him with effective protection, leaving him vulnerable to the threats he had publicly denounced.”
TuNota has also reported: “The defendants are Óscar Alexis Guardado Alvarenga [alleged perpetrator who fired the weapon], Daniel Antonio Juárez Torres and Lenín Adonis Cruz Munguía [accomplice who provided the motorcycle], accused of the crimes of murder and association to commit a crime, after the judge declared the request of the Public Ministry to expand the criminal offense admissible.”
That article further comments: “There is no public information that points to the intellectual authors of the murder. For environmental defenders, this absence confirms a half-justice. They warn that prosecuting only the alleged perpetrators does not dismantle the structure that allowed the crime or send a clear message of protection to those who defend the territory. On the contrary, it keeps intact the feeling of vulnerability in the communities.”
We continue to follow this and will follow from Canada the trial scheduled to take place from June 15 to 26 this year.
