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Honduras: Court sentences man over 2016 killing of activist

June 21, 2022

Environmental activist Berta Caceres was shot to death in her home in March 2016. Her family expressed dismay over the sentence, saying the "maxmum penalty was not applied."

https://p.dw.com/p/4CyPy
A 2016 file photo of a framed image of environmentalist Berta Caceres on a makeshift altar made in her honor during a demonstration outside Honduras' embassy, in Mexico City. (AP Photo)
Caceres defended the indigenous Lenca people and received awards for her environmental activism Image: Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo/picture alliance

A Honduran court sentenced a former energy executive to over two decades in prison on Monday for his role in the 2016 murder of an environmental activist.

Roberto David Castillo, the former president of Honduran power company Desarrollos Energeticos (DESA), was sentenced to 22 years and six months after being found guilty last year for being a co-collaborator in the killing of Berta Caceres. He will be able to appeal his sentence.

Caceres, a 44-year-old Lenca Indigenous woman who led the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), was organizing to stop the power company from building a hydroelectric plant on her community's ancestral lands. She was shot to death in her home in March 2016.

Her assassination spotlighted the danger facing environmental and indigenous activists in Honduras.

‘Maximum penalty was not applied'

The victim's family was upset with the sentence because the punishment was significantly below the maximum.

On Twitter, Caceres' daughter Olivia Zuniga Caceres said she was "outraged" because Castillo had "not received the maximum sentence." Zuniga Caceres noted that the convicted gunmen received longer sentences.

In December 2019, seven men were sentenced to prison for Caceres' murder. Four men were sentenced to 34 years for the murder and 16 years for attempted murder. Three others received sentences of 30 years for their roles.

Ritza Antunez, one of Castillo's defense attorneys, said that her team planned to appeal the sentence in a final appellate court. "The sentence is not the product of evidence. It is the product of pressure exerted through the media." she said.

Caceres, a teacher who won the prestigious Goldman Prize in 2015 for her environmental activism, had spoken out about the death threats against her and her family before she was killed.

ss/wd (Reuters, AP)