Court Files Show Bid to Tar Slain Honduran Activist Caceres

Source: Associated Press

Court Files Show Bid to Tar Slain Honduran Activist Caceres

By FREDDY CUEVAS AND PETER ORSI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — May 3, 2016, 4:08 PM ET

For months before her death, environmental activist Berta Caceres complained of repeated threats warning her to stop leading protests opposing a hydroelectric project on her Lenca people's ancestral lands.

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Previously unpublicized court records from 2014 show that the government and DESA repeatedly sought to tar Caceres and her colleagues as violent anarchists bent on terrorizing the population through their protests at the project site. In filings seeking an injunction against the demonstrations, Caceres and two leaders of her organization were accused of "usurpation, coercion and continued damage" and even attempting to undermine the democratic order.

Activists say the demonizing language helped create a dangerous climate of hostility and harassment that they link directly to her murder.

"These court documents go beyond just showing the contempt the dam company holds toward Berta Caceres and her organization," said Billy Kyte, a senior campaigner for land and environmental defense at London-based Global Witness, which acquired the records through lawyers working with Caceres' people and shared them exclusively with The Associated Press.

"It's evidence of a company ready to do whatever it takes to neutralize opposition to its business," he added. "The legal harassment and threats ... are a stark reminder of the huge risks faced by Honduran activists."

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/court-files-show-bid-tar-slain-honduran-activist-38849265