Sr.Juan Orlando Hernández
President of Honduras
Sr. Oscar Chinchilla Banegas
Attorney General of Honduras
Dear Sirs:
We are outraged at the latest assassination attempts against two indigenous leaders: Tomás Gómez Membreño, the General Coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), and Alexander García Sorto, the elected COPINH leader for the community of Llano Grande in Colomoncagua municipality in Intibucá Department.
On the evening of October 10, Tomás Gómez Membreño was driving to his house from the COPINH office in La Esperanza, Intibucá, when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle. That morning, in Llano Grande, Alexander García Sorto was awakened by shots fired through the door of his house and the window of the bedroom where he, his wife and two daughters were sleeping. Both men survived the assassination attempts.
COPINH advocates for environmental conservation and indigenous peoples' rights. COPINH members have been the targets of persistent violence as a result of their legitimate human rights work, with attacks having intensified after the killing of its co-founder and leader Berta Cáceres on March 2. On March 5, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures (No. 112-16) to COPINH members. However, those measures remain inadequately implemented by Honduran authorities.
Tomás Gómez Membreño and Alexander García have survived previous attacks. On May 8, Tomás Gómez Membreño was travelling with colleagues to a demonstration in Tegucigalpa when an army vehicle driven by military personnel attempted to force them off the road. The driver was able to control the vehicle barely avoiding an accident. On May 6, a gunman repeatedly shot Alexander García Sorto outside his home in Llano Grande, wounding him in his left shoulder. The attacker was identified as Enedicto Alvarado, a former member of the military and private security guard who had previously threatened to kill Alexander Garcia Sorto and had exhibited hostile behavior against COPINH members. The local police briefly detained Mr. Alvarado but released him on the same day after charging him with illegal possession of firearms (cf our letter of June 2).
We condemn these assassination attempts against COPINH leaders Tomás Gómez Membreño and Alexander García Sorto and we strongly urge that you
- conduct an independent, impartial and exhaustive investigation into the assassination attempts, publish the results and bring the perpetrators to justice;
- adequately implement the precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in consultation with the human rights defenders affected.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai and Christine Stonebraker-Martínez
Co-Coordinators
