WATER DEFENDER KILLED

On Saturday, September 14, environmental defender and coordinator of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Assets, Juan López, was murdered as he was leaving his work as a community and religious leader in the parish of San Isidro Labrador in the municipality of Tocoa, department of Colón, northern Honduras. According to public reports, Juan López was shot by an unidentified person on a motorcycle. We demand the Honduran authorities to ensure a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into the killing of Juan López, as well as other killings and attacks against the defenders of the Guapinol river, to refrain from using the justice system to harass them and to ensure their integral protection.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: November 14, 2024

take action:

• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
• Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 85.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

contact information:

sample letter:

Dear Attorney General,

I am writing to express my deep dismay and concern about the security situation of the defenders of the Guapinol river in Tocoa. Human rights defender, Juan López, was killed in the municipality of Tocoa on September 14, 2024. This is not the first killing of defenders of the Guapinol river. On January 7, 2023, Aly Magdaleno Domínguez Ramos and Jairo Bonilla Ayala were also killed. The authorities have yet to identify all responsible for the murder.

The people of Guapinol and other communities of Tocoa have faced continued attacks because they peacefully challenge the legality of a mining project in the Carlos Escaleras National Park, including the unjust detention of eight defenders of the Guapinol river, known as the “Guapinol eight”.

The authorities responsible for the investigation of the killing of Juan López must guarantee the right of the human rights defender’s families to justice, truth, and reparation. According to international human rights standards, authorities must consider the victim’s human rights work as a hypothesis for these crimes. Therefore, I urge you to immediately conduct a prompt, independent, impartial, and exhaustive investigation to identify all suspected responsible for the murder of Juan López. I also urge you to ensure that the authorities refrain from using the justice system to harass the defenders of the Guapinol river and take immediate steps to fully provide appropriate protection.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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