Three Former Soldiers Held for the Murder of Honduran Activist Who Wanted to Stop a Dam
Source: Vice News
Three Former Soldiers Held for the Murder of Honduran Activist Who Wanted to Stop a Dam
By Andalusia Knoll
May 3, 2016 | 5:05 pm
When environmental activist Berta Cáceres was murdered in her home in Honduras on March 2, the country's chief prosecutor said the crime was probably a robbery gone wrong.
Two months of international outrage and significant pressure later and the authorities have announced the arrest of four suspects — two of whom are employed by the company building the massive dam she had dedicated her life to fighting, and three of whom are former soldiers.
"These arrests show us that the assassination of our compañera was coordinated by the government," said José Gaspar Sánchez, spokesman for the same activist group known as the COPINH, to which Cáceres also belonged. "Neither COPINH nor Berta's daughters were notified about these arrests which is very concerning for us."
Cáceres was the best known member of the COPINH, which stands for the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras, and won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015 mainly in the name of their struggle against the Agua Zarca Dam.
Read more: https://news.vice.com/article/honduras-police-arrest-four-people-for-berta-caceres-murder
= new reply since forum marked as read
It really seems like the right thing to do. Too bad they couldn't make it permanent!
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May 3, 2016
Honduras : opposition radio journalist narrowly escapes murder attempt
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the attempt to murder well-known opposition radio journalist Félix Molina in the Honduran capital yesterday, on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, and urges the Honduran authorities to identify those responsible and provide journalists with effective protection.
In the same day, Molina was targeted twice. The first time, he escaped two armed individuals who tried to rob him while he was travelling in a taxi. The second attempt happened a few hours later, when two different individuals attacked him at the same place where he had escaped earlier. This time, they did open fire against the taxi, but Molina managed to take cover behind a seat and the shots hit him in the legs. He is now in a Tegucigalpa hospital where doctors say his injuries are no longer life threatening.
Molina is the director of the community media organisation “Alter Eco” and was the former host of Resistencia, a programme aired by the very popular opposition radio stations, Radio Globo and Radio Progreso. He has been a popular broadcaster ever since the 2009 coup d’état and has received many death threats in connection with his frequent criticism of the government.
He had just pointed out that those arrested for the 3 March murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres – a murder that shocked the entire country and the international community – were linked to certain Honduran politicians.
More:
https://rsf.org/en/news/honduras-opposition-radio-journalist-narrowly-escapes-murder-attempt
Honduran Authorities Identify Killer of Berta Cáceres
Tegucigalpa, May 4 (Prensa Latina) The Honduran authorities have identified the killers of the indigenous leader and environmentalist Berta Cáceres. Four new suspects were arrested in an operative, local media reported today.
"Among the arrested was the person who shot Berta Cáceres," stated the director of the Technical Agency of Criminal Investigation, Ricardo Castro.
According to the newspaper El Heraldo, 25-year-old Edilson Duarte, has confessed to being the material author of the crime.
The declaration of the young man, who was captured two days ago in the city of La Ceiba, will be used in a hearing on Friday to clarify what happened in the murder of the advocate of the Lenca people.
More:
http://www.plenglish.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4851011&Itemid=1
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(One of the four arrested suspects, hiding his face.) [/center]
