Honduran supreme court orders release of six anti-mining protesters
Source: The Guardian
Honduran supreme court orders release of six anti-mining protesters
• Due process rights violated in pre-trial detention, court rules
• Environmentalists were trying to protect river in national park
Nina Lakhani
Fri 11 Feb 2022 17.10 GMT
The Honduran supreme court has ordered the release of six anti-mining protesters, ruling that they should never have been put on trial.
The environmentalists, who have been held on remand for two and half years for trying to protect a river in a national park, faced up to 14 years in prison after being convicted on Wednesday of criminal damage and illegal detention. Two others were absolved of the same charges.
Wednesday’s verdict, which cemented Honduras’ ranking as the most dangerous country in the world for environmentalists and land rights defenders, was condemned as “appalling” by the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders.
Amnesty International described the verdict as “outrageous” and said the Guapinol activists were prisoners of conscience.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/11/honduras-environmentalists-mining-protesters-court-ruling
