[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                HONDURAS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about the recent 
decision by the National Jurisdiction Sentencing Court in Honduras to 
acquit Honduran nationals Edwin Espinal and Raul Alvarez. Both men were 
found to have been falsely accused of aggravated property damage, 
aggravated arson, and the use of homemade explosives, charges for which 
it turned out the government had no credible evidence.
  Espinal and Alvarez spent 19 months in a maximum-security prison 
awaiting trial. They were reportedly subjected to harsh conditions, 
including receiving only 2 hours of sunlight per month. Despite being 
accused of common crimes, special courts created to try members of 
organized criminal networks presided over the process, including a 
judge located at a military base. It took 4 years for a court to rule 
on their case and to finally absolve them of charges that were 
determined to be without merit.
  Espinal and Alvarez, like dozens of other protesters, were arrested 
during the 2017 electoral turmoil that culminated in the reelection of 
current President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Their case was used as a 
means to silence protesters and stifle discussion of the democratic 
process and the need for transparent elections.
  Edwin Espinal is a human rights defender who has faced political 
persecution since 2009. He is not alone. Many human rights and 
environmental defenders, as well as independent journalists in 
Honduras, have suffered threats, arbitrary arrests, beatings, and 
assassinations by Honduran police or others acting on their behalf.
  I and others here have repeatedly voiced our concerns with the 
Honduran Government's misuse of the judicial process to silence 
dissent. Bringing charges with no credible evidence and holding social 
activists and other critics in prison and subjecting them to lengthy 
criminal processes undermines due process and erodes public confidence 
in the integrity of the police and the courts.
  I am also concerned with the lack of due process in the case of the 
eight imprisoned water defenders from Guapinol that has dragged on for 
years. And like many, I am waiting for the official sentencing hearing 
of Roberto David Castillo, the convicted coauthor of the murder of 
Honduran environmentalist and indigenous activist, Berta Cceres.
  With another election just around the corner in Honduras, I urge the 
Honduran Government to support a free and fair electoral process, as 
well as freedom of expression, association, and assembly for all 
Honduran citizens. And I hope that the Honduras' next leaders will 
reject the corrupt practices and impunity of the past and support an 
independent judiciary, uphold the rule of law, hold the police and 
other public officials accountable when they abuse their authority, and 
restore the faith of the Honduran people in government of the people, 
by the people, and for the people.

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