Live
Audio Only
The environmental activist was killed for defending the Gualcarque River and the rights of the Lenca people.
Honduras' Sentencing Court on Tuesday started the trial against Roberto Castillo, who is the alleged mastermind of the murder of environmental activist Berta Caceres in 2016.
RELATED:
Honduras Recalls Murder of Environment Activist Berta Caceres
Justice Ministry spokesman Melvin Duarte informed that the judicial process against Castillo will conclude on April 30.
Bertha Zuñiga, who is Caceres's daughter and the coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), will testify in the trial as a witness.
"Nothing is hidden beneath the sun. Today we open the path to the truth that the ruling class has wanted to silence," she tweeted.
5 years after the murder of Berta Caceres, SOA Watch joins in demanding #JusticeforBerta. Thank you Berta, for all you taught us, for your joy in the midst of struggle, and for your unwavering determination to advance justice and truth. #5YearsWithBerta #5AnosJuntoABerta pic.twitter.com/zNhea1buTP
— SOAWatch (@SOAWatch) March 2, 2021
"I will go to the trial with my head held high. No one better than us can speak of our struggles and what we have suffered," Zuñiga added.
Castillo is the director of Energy Development (DESA) company, which planned to build a hydroelectric reservoir in the Gualcarque River, a place which is sacred to the Lenca people.
Berta Caceres opposed the hydroelectric project claiming it would cause damage to the environment. Before she got killed, she received death threats for defending the river and the rights of the Lenca people.
The accused allegedly hired a group of hitmen to assassinate Berta in her house in the La Esperanza community, Intibuca Department, on March 2, 2016.
What's behind Berta Caceres' murder? #4MesesSinJusticia#JusticiaParaBerta pic.twitter.com/PMCTsZQpUn
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) July 4, 2016
Newsletter
