TEGUCIGALPA, Honduraspro: The trial of an alleged mastermind of the killing of Honduran environmental and Indigenous rights activist Berta Cceres began Tuesday, five years after the prize-winning activist was shot to death.
Prosecutors say David Roberto Castillo Meja, president of a company building a dam that Cceres had been fighting, coordinated her 2016 killing.
The judge complained Tuesday afternoon that the trial was starting hours after it had been scheduled. Castillo Meja was not even brought to the courthouse until after midday.
In December 2019, seven men were sentenced to prison for Cceres murder. At the time, prosecutors said that the killers acted on behalf of the company, known as Desa, that was building the dam. Castillo Meja was arrested in 2018.
Castillo Meja allegedly paid the hitmen, gave logistical support and provided resources to those already convicted, according to prosecutors.
But Cceres family believes Castillo Meja is only an initial step toward seeking justice against those who ordered the killing.
For us the importance of the case against Roberto David Castillo Meja is that it smooths the path to the true masterminds, said Vctor Fernndez, who will represent Cceres family during the trial alongside government prosecutors.
Ritza Antnez, Castillo Mejas defense attorney, said there is international pressure for her clients conviction. We hope the judicial authority decides with justice, Antnez said. She said Castillo Meja and Cceres were friends.
Cceres was a co-founder of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. She helped organize opposition to the Agua Zarca dam project, which was to be built on the Galcarque River. The river holds spiritual importance for the Lenca people as well as being a critical source of water. The dam project remains frozen.
Cceres won the prestigious Goldman Prize for her environmental activism in 2015. She was slain at her home in La Esperanza on March 3, 2016. A Mexican activist who was there with her also was shot, but survived.
The trial is scheduled to continue until April 30, after which a date will be set for a decision.
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