Photo via Committee of Political Prisoners in Honduras.
On September 13, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project tweeted: “PBI observes the sit-in in front of the Supreme Court of Justice to ‘demand the definitive freedom of the political prisoners” Raúl Álvarez and Edwin Espinal’.”
“Meanwhile, within the Court begins the oral and public trial of Edwin and Raúl, detained after the generalized protests that broke out in Honduras during the electoral crisis of 2017.”
The PBI-Honduras post highlights: “Amnesty International Americas has expressed concern about the improper use of judicial procedures, the lack of procedural guarantees and the inhumane conditions of his detention.”
CTV has reported: “Family and friends of 42-year-old Edwin Espinal gathered [on September 12] next to a Highway 92 sign in Springwater [Ontario, Canada] calling for his freedom in Honduras. ‘We want his complete release,’ says Janet Spring, Espinal’s mother-in-law. ‘He was arrested on trumped up charges for speaking against the Juan Orlando Hernandez government after the 2017 November election’. Espinal is married to Karen Spring, who is from Elmvale [Ontario, Canada]. Both are human rights activists and live in Honduras.”
That article adds: “Simcoe North MP [Member of Parliament] Bruce Stanton and Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte MP Doug Shipley have both been trying to have Espinal released. ‘We need to see Honduras step up and just make sure these judicial proceedings are fair and open,’ says Stanton. ‘That’s all we’re asking for here.’”
Honduras Now adds: “On Monday, September 13, 2021, political prisoners Edwin Espinal & Raúl Alvarez will stand trial on trumped up charges stemming from the 2017 electoral crisis. Both were released from pre-trial detention in August 2019 but are not fully in the clear. The trial next week will determine whether they will be sent back to prison for 15 to 30 years.”
A CTV News video posted by Karen Spring can be seen here.
For updates on Twitter, please see Free Edwin Espinal Libertad.
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