Call for immediate investigation into Berta Cáceres murder!
UPDATE: One year after Indigenous land defender Berta Cáceres’ assassination, there is still no justice in her case. Two of her colleagues from COPINH have also been murdered. Calls from Berta’s family and the international community for further investigation and protection for members of COPINH have gone unanswered. While eight people have been arrested in connection with her murder, a group of international legal experts launched an independent inquiry in November due to concern about the official investigation.
We are continuing to call for justice for Berta and protection for her colleagues from COPINH. We stand in solidarity with Berta’s family and her colleagues as they continue her work to protect Indigenous land rights and the environment.
Berta Cáceres, co-founder and leader of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), has been assassinated in her home in La Esperanza, Honduras.
In recent weeks Berta had experienced escalated threats as a result of her work to peacefully denounce the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam in Rio Blanco. Other members of COPINH and community leaders are currently at risk for their efforts to protect Indigenous land rights in the area.
Civil society in Honduras and internationally are rallying in solidarity to condemn the murder and call for an immediate investigation in to her death. Together they urge the international community to write to embassies in Honduras – particularly the US Embassy – to put pressure on the government of Honduras to properly investigate Berta’s death and hold perpetrators accountable.
Watch Director of Communications Rachel Vincent call for justice:
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Tweet at US Secretary of State John Kerry and Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson to urge them to call for a proper investigation into Berta’s death:
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Day 12: Spotlighting Berta Cáceres Flores, Honduras
“Honduras Indigenous Leader Berta Caceres Assassinated in Home”, TeleSur, 3 March 2016.