Legal proceedings reopened against five environmental defenders from Guapinol, including late Juan López
On 19 September 2024, the Second Court of Appeals of the municipality of La Ceiba, in the department of Atlántida, decided for the reopening of the criminal process against environmental defenders Carlos Leonel George, Reynaldo Domínguez, José Adaly Cedillo, Marco Tulio Ramos and Juan López, members of the Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBPC). The decision came only five days after the murder of human rights defender Juan López on 14 September 2024.
On 24 February 2022, the Trujillo Sentencing Court in the department of Colón ordered the immediate release on bail of environmental rights defenders José Daniel Márquez, José Abelino Cedillo, Ewer Cedillo, Kelvin Romero, Orbin Nahún Hernández and Porfirio Soto, members of the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP). The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) ordered the release of the defenders by granting two appeals in their favour but the order was not executed until two weeks later.
On 13 August 2020, the Court of Appeals of Francisco Morazán revoked a dismissal in favour of human rights defenders Juan Antonio López, Carlos Leonel George, Reinaldo Domínguez, José Adalid Cedillo and Marco Tulio Ramos, originally ordered on 4 March 2019. All five human rights defenders are members of the Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBCP).
The Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBCP) is an organisation in Tocoa, Colón, comprised of several organisations defending land and environmental rights: the Environmental Committees of Sector San Pedro (13 communities) and Sector Committee Abisinia (14 communities); the Environmental Committee of the Community of Guapinol, campesino groups and the organisations Coordinadora de Organizaciones Populares del Aguán (COPA); Fundación San Alonso Rodríguez (FSAR) and Parroquia San Isidro de Tocoa. The objective of CMDBCP is to provide a platform from which these organizations can mobilise to protect public goods in the region and advocate for the right to food, water and a safe environment.
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- 25 September 2024 : Legal proceedings reopened against five environmental defenders from Guapinol, including late Juan López
- 25 February 2022 : Provisional release of Guapinol environmental rights defenders ordered
- 20 August 2020 : Criminalisation of members of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Property
On 19 September 2024, the Second Court of Appeals of the municipality of La Ceiba, in the department of Atlántida, decided for the reopening of the criminal process against environmental defenders Carlos Leonel George, Reynaldo Domínguez, José Adaly Cedillo, Marco Tulio Ramos and Juan López, members of the Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBPC). The decision came only five days after the murder of human rights defender Juan López on 14 September 2024.
CMDBCP is an organisation in Tocoa, in the department of Colón, comprised of several organisations defending land and environmental rights in Honduras.
On 19 September 2024, the Second Court of Appeals of the municipality of La Ceiba ordered to reopen the legal process against the five defenders of the CMDBCP for the fabricated charges of aggravated arson and unjust deprivation of liberty due to their work in defence of the Guapinol river in face of the environmental damages caused by the presence of mining and extractive activities in the zone.
The criminalization process against them started in September 2018, after the installation of the “encampment for water and life” for the defence of the national park Carlos Escaleras Mejía against the presence of extractive projects. In February 2019, the Court of National Jurisdiction ordered a decision not to proceed with the case of twelve defenders of the CMDBCP due to a lack of evidence against them. In August 2020, the Court of Appeals of Francisco Morazán revoked the decision on five of the twelve human rights defenders. This decision that was later appealed before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice. In June 2022, this same chamber decided in favour of the defenders Juan López, Carlos Leonel George, Reynaldo Domínguez, José Adaly Cedillo y Marco Tulio Ramos, but to this day the decision has not been implemented. The recent decision of the Second Court of Appeals of La Ceiba is an attempt to undermine the decision of an upper court in potential contradiction with the principle of double jeopardy.
For more than six years, the defenders of the Guapinol river have faced harassment, arbitrary detentions and threats as reprisal for their work, including the killing of Juan López on 14 September 2024.
Front Line Defenders expresses its deep concern over the reopening of the criminal process against the defenders of the CMDBCP, as it considers it is a form of reprisal for their environmental work. Front Line Defenders reiterate its call for an investigation into the murder of Juan López. The undue use of criminal law, as well as the threats and attacks against those who defend human rights in Honduras illustrate the insecurity faced by defenders in the country.
On 24 February 2022, the Trujillo Sentencing Court in the department of Colón ordered the immediate release on bail of environmental rights defenders José Daniel Márquez, José Abelino Cedillo, Ewer Cedillo, Kelvin Romero, Orbin Nahún Hernández and Porfirio Soto, members of the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP). The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) ordered the release of the defenders by granting two appeals in their favour but the order was not executed until two weeks later. Defenders Arnol Aleman and Jeremias Martinez were released after they were acquitted on 9 February 2022.
The Trujillo Court issued only a conditional release order, a ruling which the Supreme Court must rectify. Since their release, the defenders have continued to face harassment, arbitrary arrests by the national police and threats for their work denouncing illegal mining in the Carlos Escaleras National Park.
While Front Line Defenders welcomes the rulings of the Supreme Court of Justice, it condemns the arbitrary detention for more than 900 days of the human rights defenders of CMDBCP as well as their criminalisation based on false accusations, before courts without jurisdiction, and the impact this has had on their work in defence of environmental rights in Tocoa. Front Line Defenders strongly believes that José Daniel Márquez, José Abelino Cedillo, Ewer Cedillo, Kevin Romero, Orbin Nahúm Hernández and Porfirio Soto Hernández continue to be targeted in an attempt to criminalise them as a result of their defence of water, environment, land and territory.
On 13 August 2020, the Court of Appeals of Francisco Morazán revoked a dismissal in favour of human rights defenders Juan Antonio López, Carlos Leonel George, Reinaldo Domínguez, José Adalid Cedillo and Marco Tulio Ramos, originally ordered on 4 March 2019. All five human rights defenders are members of the Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBCP). The dismissal was issued as part of a legal process that began in September 2018, whilst eight other CMDBCP members also linked to this case remain in preventive detention, since 1 September 2019.
The Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBCP) is an organisation in Tocoa, Colón, comprised of several organisations defending land and environmental rights: the Environmental Committees of Sector San Pedro (13 communities) and Sector Committee Abisinia (14 communities); the Environmental Committee of the Community of Guapinol, campesino groups and the organisations Coordinadora de Organizaciones Populares del Aguán (COPA); Fundación San Alonso Rodríguez (FSAR) and Parroquia San Isidro de Tocoa. The objective of CMDBCP is to provide a platform from which these organizations can mobilise to protect public goods in the region and advocate for the right to food, water and a safe environment.
On 4 March 2019, the charges of “aggravated arson” and “unjust deprivation of liberty” were dismissed for a group of 12 human rights defenders, all members of CMDBCP. The charges date back to September 2018 and are in connection with their participation in the peaceful defense of the San Pedro and Guapinol rivers. On 13 August 2020, and without explanation, the Court of Appeals of Francisco Morazán revoked this dismissal for five of the 12 defenders. The defense attorneys have presented a reinstatement plea before the Court to challenge the decision to revoke the dismissal.
On the same day, 13 August 2020, the Court of Appeals also ratified the formal indictment orders issued to the human rights defenders José Daniel Marquez, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Kelvin Alejandro Romero, José Abelino Cedillo, Ewer Alexis Cedillo, Orbin Nahún Hernández, Arnol Javier Alemán and Jeremías Martínez – also members of the CMDBCP – for the same charges. Seven of the defenders remain in preventive detention since 1 September 2019 at the Olanchito Penal Center, whilst Jeremías Martínez has been held at the La Ceiba Penal Center since December 2018.
The legal process against the defenders began on 13 September 2018, when a Honduran court specialized in organized crime issued an arrest warrant against 18 CMDBCP members for "usurpation and damages" against the mining company Los Pinares and the State of Honduras. The defenders were peacefully protesting in the Guapinol camp due to the environmental and personal damage caused by the mining activities of the company Los Pinares. The mine and the activities associated with it, operated by the mining company Los Pinares, contaminated the water of the Guapinol River which is a source of drinking water for fourteen surrounding communities. The contamination led to the death of animals and diseases among the inhabitants of the area. The mining project, which has received many allegations regarding the irregularities of its license, was carried out without prior consultation with the communities, or their consent.
On 21 February 2019, 13 of the 18 people named on the arrest warrant voluntarily presented themselves to the National Jurisdiction Court of San Pedro Sula. Whilst there, the defenders and their lawyers were made aware of a second arrest warrant that had been issued by the Public Ministry against 31 people from the Guapinol camp, including 12 of the defenders present at the Court. The arrest warrant was issued for the additional crimes of “illicit association”, “robbery”, “aggravated arson” and “unjust deprivation of liberty”. The defense attorneys filed an appeal against the issuing of the second arrest warrant without notifying the defenders, and as a result the case was transferred to a National Jurisdiction judge based in Tegucigalpa. In February 2019, a judge from the National Jurisdiction Court issued a dismissal of all charges citing a lack of evidence.
In its ruling on 13 August 2020, the Appeals Court ratified the definitive dismissal for the crime of illicit association for the defenders who voluntarily presented themselves before the courts. This ratification indicates that the defenders are not part of an illegal group – which is maintained as one of the reasons why the eight defenders have been held in preventive detention. In light of this ratification, Front Line Defenders calls for the release of the eight defenders who have been held in preventive detention since September 2019.
Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned by the ruling of the Court of Appeals of Francisco Morazán, as it represents an act of criminalization against the defenders Juan Antonio López, Carlos Leonel George, Reinaldo Domínguez, José Adalid Cedillo, and Marco Tulio Ramos.
The Court's decision forms part of a pattern of criminal law being misused to further political and business interests. The decision can also be viewed as an example of ‘’selective justice’’, used to target environmental defenders and deter them from continuing their work in defense of territory and natural resources in Honduras. Front Line Defenders urges the Honduran State to implement the recommendations issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in August 2019 in relation to the judicial system.
