International Human Rights Organizations Denounce the Violations of the Rights of Chavelo Morales

This letter was originally sent March 20, 2014. To date, there has been no response

John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State
Julie Ciccarone, Mission Director, USAID Honduras
Amanda Johnson Miller, Human Rights Officer, US Embassy, Honduras
Juan Orlando Hernandez, President, Honduras
Rigoberto Chang Castillo, El Ministerio de Derechos Humanos, Justicia, Gobernabilidad y Descentralización, Honduras
Abogado Jorge Alberto Revira Avilés, Magistrado Presidente de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, Honduras
Ramón Antonio Sabillón Pineda, Director de la Policía Nacional de Honduras
Óscar Fernando Chinchilla Banegas, Fiscal General, Honduras

Dear Sirs and Madams,

The attached letter, signed by 56 human rights and social justice organizations, is motivated by the denial of justice, once again, to José Isabel Morales Lopez. It is a denunciation of the February judicial proceedings and actions of:

The Public Prosecutor, Jose Reynaldo Canales, from the Ministerio Publico in Trujillo, Colon, Honduras who exhibited prosecutorial misconduct and manipulation of the court
The Judges of the Tribunal of Trujillo and La Ceiba: Carol Jaqueline Ortega, Luis Alberto Juárez, and Ricardo Geovany Rodríguez, all of whom exhibited judicial misconduct during the course of a trial
The Judges from the Court of Appeals in La Ceiba: Dilia Iracema Guillén, Garin Enoc Urquía y Rubenia Esperanza Galeano, all of whom, together with the above named judges, violated orders from the Supreme Court of Honduras
And finally, the Sub-Commissioner of the National Police in the Department of Olancho, Henry Osorto Canales who perjured himself in court with impunity as well as having a history of intimidation, threats and abuse of authority as a member of the National Police.

As human rights defenders, we are outraged by these abuses of authority of the aforementioned members of the justice system of Honduras, and the environment of impunity in which they are able to operate in violating the rights of Jose Isabel Morales Lopez, a peasant farmer from the Aguán region of Northern Honduras and a recognized political prisoner by Human Rights organizations around the world.

We call for the immediate liberty of José Isabel Morales Lopez. We demand a full investigation into the human rights violations and judicial irregularities surrounding the trial as well as the threats and intimidation against the family and community. We further demand that all police, military and security aid be cut until human rights violations end, specifically the continued aid by the United States to the National Police and USAID funding to the Ministerio Publico given the ongoing abuses being perpetrated.