The Other Americans: Court Frees Activists Criminalized in Honduras

Edwin Espinal and Raúl Álvarez, who faced terrorism charges from the unrest following Honduras’ fraudulent 2017 election, have been freed after nineteen months in a military prison.

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In Honduras, two human rights activists have been cleared of all charges in a high-profile case. On September 17, a judge ruled in favor of Edwin Espinal and Raúl Álvarez in the terrorism charges they faced. These charges stemmed from the unrest that followed the re-election of Juan Orlando Hernández in 2017, on account of an illegitimate election process.

“It was a political decision by the government to not fight the case in a really rigorous and hard manner. They used the case to make a statement against protesters for many years.” 

The decision comes after nearly four years during which the activists faced criminal charges,  including a nineteen-month period of pre-trial detention in a military prison. For them, the decision comes as a relief. 

“Now that we have received a court ruling in our favor, it is very satisfying,” Espinal tells The Progressive. “It is the first time that I have been in a judicial process like this and it is the first time that I am feeling and valuing my freedom.”

Despite being absolved of all charges, Espinal and Álvarez still face a long process to fully regain their freedom; the court has to issue a final decision in the case, and the prosecution can still appeal that decision.  

Espinal and Álvarez were arrested after months of massive protests that erupted in November 2017 in response to the disputed re-election of Hernández. In January 2018, just weeks before the inauguration, charges of arson, aggravated damage to property, and the use of explosive devices were filed by the Honduran Public Prosecutor’s office against Espinal and Álvarez. 

The arrest came as tens of thousands of Hondurans continued protesting the re-election of Hernández.

The election was mired in accusations of fraud. Initially the opposing candidate, Salvador Narsalla, had a lead over Hernández, whose popularity took a hit when he got the courts to let him seek a second term despite the one-term limit specified in the Honduran constitution. But Nasrala’s lead quickly evaporated in the early morning of November 27, giving Hernández a second term. 

Espinal and Álvarez were kept in the La Tolva maximum security military prison outside of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They endured the brutal conditions that criminalized activists regularly face in Honduras. Espinal says the prison was horrendous, and included constant threats from government-backed criminal groups inside of the prison. 

In mid-2019, Espinal and Álvarez were freed from the maximum security prison and placed under house arrest. The case finally went to trial in September 2021. According to Espinal’s partner, Karen Spring, a human rights activist, the Honduran Public Prosecutor’s office did little to push the case. 

“It was a political decision by the government to not fight the case in a really rigorous and hard manner,” Spring tells The Progressive. “They wanted to go through the motions of the case because they had pushed it forward and had sent them to a maximum security prison. And they used the case to make a statement against protesters for many years.” 

International solidarity from civil society organizations played a key role in keeping up pressure to free Espinal and Álvarez. While the case was initially mired in secrecy,

the trial was opened to the public due to advocacy from allies across the globe. 

“It also speaks a lot to the fact that the prosecutor’s office knew there were a lot of eyes on this case,” Spring says. “And yet they made no effort to fight it out hard and make it look like they had any sort of level of professionalism as well. So for me, it was almost like organized negligence.”

Espinal is grateful for the support given from various sectors.

“We have received a lot of solidarity from the people in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America, and here in Central America,” Espinal tells The Progressive. “The entire social movement has manifested itself and they have been on our side. They have been accompanying us in this process, and we are confident that they will continue to support us, and that they will continue on our side until we achieve the liberation of all our comrades.”

The case against Espinal and Álvarez highlights the persecution and criminalization of protest and social movements in Honduras. The administration of Juan Orlando Hernández has used criminal charges to deter his critics and to undermine social movements during both of his terms as president, but increasingly in his second term. Currently, there are at least twenty-two other activists who continue to face prosecution, which impacts their movements. 

“Four years later and the amount of resources and time that goes into these criminalization cases totally takes away from people being able to construct their own alternatives,” Spring says. “And it’s just an incredible amount of energy that goes into [their defense].”

The filing of criminal charges has also undermined confidence in Honduras’ justice system, as U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy identified in a statement about the absolving of Espinal and Álvarez. 

“I hope that the Honduras’ next leaders,” the statement read, “will reject the corrupt practices and impunity of the past, and support an independent judiciary, uphold the rule of law, hold the police and other public officials accountable when they abuse their authority, and restore the faith of the Honduran people in government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

But U.S. policy toward Honduras has largely abandoned those who are struggling for a better country. Through his administration, President Hernández has maintained support from the U.S. administrations of Donald Trump and now Joe Biden, despite his alleged connections to drug trafficking. 

The court’s decision in the case of Espinal and Álvarez comes as Honduras enters its 2021 presidential and congressional election cycle. A new sense of fear hangs over Honduras. 

“The country is in a state of uncertainty,” Espinal tells The Progressive. “It is a very ugly situation. There is a lot of tension.”