Since January 2003, Rights Action has been supporting and involved with efforts to free the Miranda Brothers, campesino-Lenca political prisoners in Honduras, members of COPINH, a major Rights Action partner group in Honduras. Finally there is good news. THANK-YOU to everyone and every group that has helped out with funds and activism.
HONDURAS: AFTER THREE YEARS OF FALSE AND ABUSIVE IMPRISONMENT, SUPREME COURT ACQUITS POLITICAL PRISONERS MARCELINO AND LEONARDO MIRANDA FALSELY CHARGED WITH MURDER
by Sandra Vagabunda, www.rightsaction.org, caminando27 [at] yahoo.es
It is time to take a moment to celebrate some good news for a change!
The Honduran Supreme Court of Justice has acquitted Montaña Verde community
leaders Marcelino and Leonardo Miranda of murder, a fabricated charge for which they had been sentenced to 25 years in jail. This is a final decision.
The Miranda brothers release awaits the official certification of the Supreme Courts Secretariat and the case files journey back down through the court system to the Appeals Court in Santa Rosa de Copán and then to the courthouse in Gracias, the town in which Marcelino and Leonardo have been unjustly imprisoned since their illegal detention and torture in January 2003.
With great joy, Rights Action joins the Civic Council of Grassroots and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in celebrating the news and recognizing the many many actions, letters, telephone calls, faxes, emails and messages from many many people that have all contributed to this victory.
We would like to share COPINHs message to all of you:
This acquittal would not have been possible were it not for all the local, national and international solidarity and pressure. Thus, in the most fraternal way, we thank all the individuals, organizations, churches and other networks and groups that have supported the campaign for the Miranda brothers freedom.
COPINH is asking that solidarity with Montaña Verde and community leaders be
maintained until all falsely accused community leaders are released and until the communities of Montaña Verde receive legal title to their communal ancestral lands.
Meanwhile, Rights Action shares with you our celebration of this extremely important victory. It is a victory of Marcelino and Leonardo themselves, their families, the communities of Montaña Verde, COPINH, and each and every one of us.
It demonstrates the power of our collective activism, made up of every individual letter and action. We invite you to reflect and celebrate on this victory and on the importance of relentless efforts for justice in this and other cases, even as we all struggle for justice on a global scale.
Rights Action will continue to support COPINH and Montaña Verde in their struggles for justice, land, the environment and locally-controlled community development. We will also continue to inform you of the continuing attention and actions needed for the release of the Miranda brothers and of other Montaña Verde community leaders (Margarito Vargas currently in jail, Tiburcio Bautista also falsely accused of several crimes, including the same murder).
COPINH is asking that solidarity with Montaña Verde and community leaders be
maintained until all falsely accused community leaders are released and until the communities of Montaña Verde receive legal title to their communal ancestral lands.
Meanwhile, Rights Action shares with you our celebration of this extremely important victory. It is a victory of Marcelino and Leonardo themselves, their families, the communities of Montaña Verde, COPINH, and each and every one of us.
It demonstrates the power of our collective activism, made up of every individual letter and action. We invite you to reflect and celebrate on this victory and on the importance of relentless efforts for justice in this and other cases, even as we all struggle for justice on a global scale.
Rights Action will continue to support COPINH and Montaña Verde in their struggles for justice, land, the environment and locally-controlled community development. We will also continue to inform you of the continuing attention and actions needed for the release of the Miranda brothers and of other Montaña Verde community leaders (Margarito Vargas currently in jail, Tiburcio Bautista also falsely accused of several crimes, including the same murder).
For more information about supporting the work of Rights Action visit their website.
