Stop the prosecution of human rights defenders in Honduras

On September 12, Berta Cáceres, Tomás Gomez, and Aureliano Molina, leaders of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) must appear in court.

They are charged with usurpation of land, coercion, and causing more than $3 million in damages to DESA, a hydroelectric dam company. Berta, the general coordinator of COPINH and an internationally recognized human rights defender is also facing separate charges of illegally carrying arms “to the danger of the internal security of Honduras.”

COPINH, with support of Friends of the Earth Honduras, FoE members and allies in the region and around the world are calling on the government of Honduras to

1. drop the charges against Berta, Tomás, Aureliano, and all others defending their lands,
2. cancel the dam concession in Rio Blanco and stop the project,
3. respect ancestral territories, and
4. stop the violence against indigenous communities

How you can support the call

• Send an e-mail to the Honduran government urging them to stop the judicial persecution of COPINH and to US officials urging them to end military aid to the Battalion stationed in Rio Blanco.
• Write to the Honduran embassy or consulate in your country and urge them to stop the criminalization of COPINH.
• In the United States rallies are being organized in various cities including New Orleans, New York and San Francisco.