Sr.Óscar Fernando Chinchilla Banegas Attorney General of Honduras
Lica. Karla Cueva Secretary of State for Human Rights Affairs
December 26, 2018
Dear Sir and Madam:
We are extremely concerned about the ongoing criminalization and judicial harassment of Juana Carranza, a member of the Reyes Rodríguez Arévalo Campesina Cooperative, which is affiliated with the Yoro regional branch of the National Field Workers Office (CNTC) in El Progreso, Yoro Department.
On November 15 she was on her way to Tegucigalpa to seek treatment for epilepsy when she was arrested for “usurpation.” Over the next 12 hours she endured severe stress as she was transferred between detention centers without being informed of her location. She was finally held at the Joint Command Center in San Pedro Sula, Cortés Department. She was again falsely charged of “usurpation of lands” as she had been in 2012. At that time she was sentenced to probation, required to sign in at the Potrillo Courthouse in person every month, and was forbidden to leave the country. Since then she has complied by presenting herself each month at the Potrillo Courthouse.
On November 16, she was released after a hearing at which she was accompanied by her lawyer, Merary Ávila, a member of the National Defender Network, and by other human rights defenders. She was ordered to continue to comply with the measures decreed in 2012.
We condemn these punitive measures which are significantly impacting her life and strongly urge that you
- suspend the punitive measures against Juana Carranza;
- immediately cease using the justice system to criminalize and repress human rights defenders.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai
Christine Stonebraker-Martínez
Co-Coordinators
copies:
Lic. Jacobo Santos, Special Prosecutor for Human Rights, Honduras ~ via email
Marlon R. Tábora Muñoz, Ambassador of Honduras to the US ~ via website or fax, and US mail
Heide B. Fulton, Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy in Honduras ~ via email
Jason Smith, Human Rights and Labor Representative, US Embassy in Honduras ~ via email
David Tagle, Honduras Desk, US State Dept ~ via email
Joel Hernández, Rapporteur for Honduras, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via email
US Senators Brown & Portman
US Representatives Beatty, Fudge, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Ryan ~ via email
20 Nov 2018_IM-Defensores_Honduras
