Court files show bid to tar slain Honduran activist Caceres
Source: Associated Press
Court files show bid to tar slain Honduran activist Caceres
Freddy Cuevas and Peter Orsi, Associated Press
Updated 9:22 pm, Tuesday, May 3, 2016
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — For months before her death, environmental activist Berta Caceres complained of repeated threats warning her to stop leading protests opposing a hydroelectric project on her Lenca people's ancestral lands.
Then, on March 3, armed men forced their way into Caceres' home in the middle of the night, shot her four times and wounded a visiting Mexican activist, who survived by playing dead. The killing prompted widespread condemnation and calls for an independent investigation, in part due to Caceres' international prominence as the winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize.
. . .
Previously unpublicized court records from 2014 show that the government and DESA repeatedly sought to tar Caceres and her colleagues as violent anarchists bent on terrorizing the population through their protests at the project site. In filings seeking an injunction against the demonstrations, Caceres and two leaders of her organization were accused of "usurpation, coercion and continued damage" and even attempting to undermine the democratic order.
Activists say the demonizing language helped create a dangerous climate of hostility and harassment that they link directly to her murder.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Court-files-show-bid-to-tar-slain-Honduran-7390618.php
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