On May 26, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project tweeted: “PBI accompanied CEHPRODEC and Bufete Justicia para los Pueblos [Justice for the Peoples Law Firm] in the filing of Amparo appeal for the closure of the criminal proceedings against Víctor Vásquez and José S. Vigil for the crime of forced displacement.”

The PBI-Honduras post adds: “’We are defenders of human rights, not terrorists’, they recall from Simpinula.”

On May 25, lawyer Edy Tabor tweeted: “Let us demand that the Constitutional Chamber order the closure of the criminal proceedings against Víctor V. and José V. since in a racist judicial act the Court of Appeals of Comayagua did not want to resolve the appeal presented by the defense and only resolved the one presented by the MP [Public Ministry].”

Indigenous rights

Last week, PBI-Honduras posted on Facebook: “After the arrest of indigenous leader Victor Vásquez, the Lenca Indigenous Council of Simpinula continues under threats and persecution for defending territory and natural goods.”

“They denounce a two-speed justice; more than 40 complaints have been filed by the Council in the prosecutors of Marcala and Tegucigalpa and none have been investigated.”

The post from PBI-Honduras highlights: “We express concern about the security situation of the people defending indigenous human rights and the land as well as the criminalization and judicial proceedings they face.”

Víctor Vásquez

Front Line Defenders has explained: “Víctor Vásquez is a member of the Consejo Indígena de Simpinula (Indigenous Council of Simpinula) in Santa María, La Paz.”

“He is also the local leader of the Movimiento Indígena Independiente Lenca de La Paz (Lenca Indigenous Movement of La Paz, Honduras – MILPAH), which advocates for the rights of Lenca indigenous peoples to self-determination and to their ancestral lands.”

That post adds: “The human rights defender has been repeatedly threatened for supporting local small farmers’ groups in La Paz in activities to recover land they consider has been illegally privatized by local authorities.”

Hearing on May 27

Front Line Defenders further notes: “On 27 May 2021, the oral and public hearing of the case of human rights defender Víctor Vásquez will take place at the Regional Court of Comayagua City. The human rights defender was indicted for the crime of ‘injuries’ in 2018. Víctor Vásquez has been detained at the La Paz Penal Centre since 11 December 2020, after being arbitrarily detained by Honduran police officers.”

Video

To watch a short video (in Spanish) produced by the Lenca Indigenous Movement of La Paz (MILPAH), the Honduran Centre for the Promotion of Community Development (CEHPRODEC), and PBI-Honduras that tells more of this story, click here.

You can now follow PBI-Honduras on Twitter.

Victor Vasquez

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