UN rapporteur ‘appalled’ by convictions for Hondurans who opposed open-pit mine

Six Honduran environmentalists have been found guilty of crimes against a mining company, in a case widely condemned by legal and human rights experts.

The activists, from the small community of Guapinol, have been held in pre-trial detention for two and a half years after opposing an iron oxide mine which has polluted rivers relied upon by thousands of people.

The huge open-pit mine, which is owned by one of the country's most powerful couples, sits inside a protected national park in Tocoa, a municipality in the country's northern Colón department. It was sanctioned without community consultation in a process mired by irregularities, according to international experts.

On Wednesday, in a two-to-one divided decision, the court ruled that José Márquez, Kelvin Romero Martinez, José Abelino Cedillo, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbin Nahúm Hernández, and Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz were guilty of criminal damage and illegal detention of the company's security chief. Two men, Arnold Alemán and Jeremias Martinez, were absolved of the same charges.

Amnesty International, which considers the Guapinol environmentalists to be prisoners of conscience, described the verdict as "outrageous".

"The defenders are victims of arbitrary detention and unfounded criminal prosecution, stemming solely from their legitimate work defending the right to water and a healthy environment in Honduras," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

"It's extremely serious that, despite the lack of diligence in the investigations by the public prosecutor's office, six of the Guapinol prisoners of conscience are facing prison sentences."