El Salvador: Trial Against Santa Marta Environmentalists Ends
Rally in solidarity with Santa Marta environmentalists at the Embassy of El Salvador in Honduras, Oct. 2024. X/ @COPINHHONDURAS
October 16, 2024 Hour: 7:23 am
‘They are being tried in order to silence their struggle and open the doors to extractivism,’ COPINH denounced.
On Tuesday, the trial against a group of Salvadoran environmentalists, who are being prosecuted for alleged war crimes committed in 1989, concluded in the Sensuntepeque court.
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The activists involved in this case are Miguel Gamez, Alejandro Lainez, Pedro Rivas, Teodoro Pacheco, and Saul Rivas, who were members of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) during the Salvadoran civil war (1972-1992).
This case also involves Arturo Serrano, Eduardo Sancho, who was one of the signatories of the 1992 Peace Accords, and Fidel Recinos, who has been accused of murder, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and involvement in illicit groups.
During the five-day trial, residents of the Santa Marta community held a protest outside the courthouse to show their solidarity with the accused.
“Our brothers work for the country’s welfare. I hope they are released,” said Miguel Castro, a pastor from the Ecumenical Churches Forum of El Salvador, who stated that there is not enough evidence to justify the continued detention of the Santa Marta environmentalists.
Previously, the Salvadoran Prosecutor’s Office classified the acts in this case as crimes against humanity and requested a 36-year sentence for the activists, who are accused of killing a woman during the civil war. The Santa Marta community, however, argues that this trial is a smokescreen intended to silence environmental defenders and does not seek justice for a murder that occurred over 30 years ago.
“We demand freedom for the defenders of Santa Marta, who have tirelessly defended the ban on metal mining in El Salvador,” denounced the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).
“They are being tried in order to silence their struggle and open the doors to extractivism, a direct threat against communities and the environment. We demand their immediate freedom! Enough of political persecution!” it added.
teleSUR/ JF Source: teleSUR – HPD Noticias
