solidarity for tesla ventura
Honduran mother and member of Friends of the Earth Honduras/Movimiento Madre Tierra, Tesla Ventura, has been sentenced on trumped up charges of illegally detaining several teachers at the school where she had helped arrange a parent teacher's meeting. We need to raise $2000 urgently or she will go to prison for four years.
Tesla Ventura faces four years in prison.
Two years ago, Tesla Ventura helped organize a meeting of parents, teachers and directors at the local high school in the rural area where she lives. The students and their parents were upset, because a number of teachers had not been giving classes (while still getting paid), but were now expecting students to take their exams.
Before the meeting could proceed, everyone had to wait for the arrival of regional directors. As a result of their tardiness, everyone present, including a group of teachers, spent the night at the school waiting.
A few days later, Tesla and the other parent leaders were charged with illegally detaining several teachers at the school, even though these teachers had spent the night of their own volition.
The parent leaders were offered a choice: admit guilt and be freed -but denied the opportunity to participate in community organizing in the future, or deny guilt and be forced to go every Friday to sign a book in the courthouse of a town an hour away, until some future point when a trial could be held.
In November 2007 a trial was held. It included evidence from "witnesses" that Tesla had never seen in her life. Tesla was due to be sentenced in January 2008, but thanks to international support, sentencing was delayed. That day has now come.
On Monday 2 February 2009, the sentence was finally passed. Tesla must raise $2000 in the next few days or she will face four years in a Honduran prison. We urgently need your help in paying the fine. Please follow the link below and give what you can.
update
We have now raised the required $2000. Thank you to everyone who donated. We will send you an update on Tesla's situation as soon as we have it.
For further background on the case please visit the website of COHAPAZ (the Honduran Committee for Action for Peace).
