TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS — In the face of the Honduran State’s silence and lack of response, on August 10, OFRANEH set up an indefinite resistance camp outside the Supreme Court of Justice in Tegucigalpa, under the banner “For the Life of the Garifuna People.” The action calls for the definitive dismissal of the charges against five Garifuna defenders from the community of San Juan, Tela, and for the effective implementation of the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) recognizing and protecting the territorial rights of the Garifuna people.
“We are not leaving; we are staying right here. We have come to Tegucigalpa and moved in front of the Supreme Court so that the President of this Court, Wagner Vallecillo, puts an end to this trial,” said Miriam Miranda, OFRANEH leader, in statements shared on social media.
Her remarks come as human rights organizations and allies express deep concern over the judicial persecution of Deinor Osmany Mejía Arzu, Irbin Rene López Cortes, Carlos Enrique Fernández Guzmán, Onil Rigoberto Hernández Zelaya, and Sara Abigail Acosta, OFRANEH members from the Garifuna community of San Juan, Tela.
The five defenders were detained during a violent eviction in the community of San Juan. Although they were subsequently released, they continue to face criminal proceedings on charges of “aggravated usurpation” for defending their own ancestral territory.
The public letter warns that this criminalization is taking place amid increasing violence, racism, and threats against Garifuna communities defending their lands and territories. The IACtHR has issued four judgments recognizing and protecting the ancestral territorial rights of Garifuna communities in Honduras, including the communities of Triunfo de la Cruz, Punta Piedra, San Juan, and Cayos Cochinos.
“This government insists on disregarding the judgments of the Inter-American Court. It insists on disregarding the rights of the Garifuna people—and not only disregarding them, but denying them,” Miranda stated.
The signatory organizations call on the President of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Judiciary of Honduras to take all necessary measures to immediately and definitively end the judicial persecution of the five defenders; ensure the full implementation of the IACtHR judgments; prevent further criminalization of the Garifuna people; and take action against the growing campaign of racial hatred that threatens their safety and their legitimate work in defense of human rights.
ESCR-Net joins the call for solidarity with OFRANEH and Garifuna communities in defense of their territories, their collective rights, and those who work to protect them.
The signatory organizations call for:
- The immediate and definitive end to the judicial persecution of Deinor Osmany Mejía Arzu, Irbin Rene López Cortes, Carlos Enrique Fernández Guzmán, Onil Rigoberto Hernández Zelaya, and Sara Abigail Acosta.
- The full and effective implementation of the four judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in favor of the Garifuna people.
- Measures to prevent any further criminalization or judicial persecution of the Garifuna people.
- Action to put an end to the campaign of racial hatred against the Garifuna people, which threatens their safety and their legitimate work in defense of human rights.
Read the public letter
The full public letter, addressed to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Judiciary of Honduras, is available on the IM-Defensoras website.
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Media contact
Eva King – ESCR-Net | eking@escr-net.org
María Martín – IM Defensoras | maria.martin@im-defensoras.org
