Dear Friend, We have gotten word that our partner the Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña/Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) is facing a new legal attack on their leaders. They are asking for our solidarity — will you join hundreds of others in standing with them? This past winter, movements in Honduras won a historic victory with a new progressive president, ending a 12-year narco dictatorship. Yet authoritarian elements that still hang onto sections of the state are using their remaining power against social movements. In 2020, armed men invaded the Afro-descendant Garifuna village of Triunfo de la Cruz and abducted four community leaders. To demand answers about the disappeared and win justice for the community, OFRANEH then formed a global campaign. On August 9, 2022, they and our partner COPINH1 launched a peaceful protest and sit-in in the Public Ministry in Tegucigalpa, Honduras’s capital. The Honduran Office of the Attorney General, instead of supporting this campaign for justice, has taken to attacking free speech and human rights. They have initiated a criminal investigation into OFRANEH and COPINH leaders — claiming the sit-in “disrupted order” and “illegally deprived liberty.” It’s not enough that these charges would hypocritically criminalize the very organizers seeking to end racist violence against Garifuna peoples. These potential charges come with prison sentences ranging from one to seven years — a devastating blow to the movement. The Honduran government is sensitive to international political pressure. Our support can be crucial in ending this legal intimidation. Please join us in taking action today. |
|
