Indigenous human rights activists are especially at risk

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) welcomes the arrest of the potential mastermind behind the assassination of Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres. “Two years after the treacherous murder of the indigenous dam critic, the fact that the influential boss of a construction company was arrested is an important sign that crimes against female indigenous human rights activists will not go unpunished. They are threatened in two respects – as women and as indigenous human rights activists,” stated Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, in Göttingen on Saturday. “However, the Caceres case is just the tip of the iceberg. In Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, and many other countries, female indigenous human rights activists have to fear for their lives just because they decided to fight for the rights of their peoples and for the preservation of their livelihoods. Now, Honduras has to ensure that the suspected mastermind of the contract killing can be convicted in a fair trial.”

Yesterday, the boss of the construction company Desarollos Energeticos SA (Desa), Castillo Mejia, was arrested at the airport of San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in the country, when he tried to leave the country – together with former members of the military secret service. His company is planning to build a dam on the river Gualcarque, which is sacred to the indigenous community of the Lenca. Caceres was seen as the most significant critic of the project. On March 2, 2016, the human rights activist was killed in her home at night, after receiving numerous death threats.

The methodical murderous attack had quickly led to the suspicion that the construction company could be involved in the crime. Caceres had repeatedly expressed fears that Mejia could use his contacts to the army to do her harm.

Although the murder had caused outrage all over the world, the authorities had delayed the investigations into the crime for quite a while. “Desa has good contacts with leading politicians in the country. For example, a former Minister of Justice and several members of influential families are members of the company’s board,” said Delius. “In Honduras, anyone who demands justice for Berta Caceres is in acute danger, but Berta’s family continued to call for justice – despite the intimidation attempts and threats. However, it is largely thanks to international pressure that action is being taken against the potential mastermind.” Eight other suspects in the murder case were arrested in recent months. The trials are scheduled to begin in June 2018.

Header Photo: coolloud via Flickr