By Olivia Alperstein, John Cavanagh, Pedro Cabezas
San Salvador – On October 28, the Salvadoran Attorney General opted to appeal the historic verdict in the trial of the five prominent Salvador water defenders, who were arrested on trumped-up charges back in January 2023.
On October 18, the presiding tribunal in the Salvadoran trial of the five leading Salvadoran Water Defenders ruled that all five are completely innocent of the two sham charges of murder and illicit association that were laid against them.
Read the official statement in Spanish and translated into English from the Santa Marta, El Salvador community, whose community leaders were among those on trial, in response to the announcement of the appeal.
The statement denounces the “attempt by the Salvadoran Attorney General’s Office to continue using the judicial system to persecute environmental activism and manipulate restorative and transitional justice to criminalize environmental defenders who warn about the serious dangers of mining.”
On November 1, 14 international organizations that have played a vital role in an international solidarity campaign to highlight the sham charges and who released a statement on the October 18 verdict issued the following comment in response to the announcement of the appeal:
We applaud the October 18 verdict by the tribunal in the Sensuntepeque Sentencing Court that found no evidence of a crime and declared the five water defenders innocent and freed them. We condemn the Attorney General’s October 28 appeal of this very clear verdict. We urge the Appeals Court to uphold the law and reaffirm the innocence of the five Salvadoran water defenders.
The presiding tribunal in the Sensuntepeque Sentencing Court ruled that prosecutors did not provide evidence of the existence of a crime, could not link the defendants to the alleged crime, and that the alleged crime itself did not classify as a crime against humanity or a war crime.
Despite that clear ruling that there was no basis for prosecution of the five and that there was no crime committed, the Salvadoran Attorney General is persisting in his attempt to unjustly persecute these five prominent community leaders, who were instrumental in the historic 2017 law that prohibits metallic mining in El Salvador and who have continued to be instrumental in ongoing efforts to protect Salvadoran communities and preserve local natural resources.
This further underscores our concerns that the Bukele administration is seeking to bring back mining to the country, and might even overturn the law that prohibits mining to generate foreign investment from transnational mining corporations.
It is vital that justice continues to prevail. As leading international organizations, we join the Santa Marta community in calling on the Cojutepeque Criminal Chamber to reaffirm the ruling of innocence by the Sentencing Court of Sensuntepeque.
That carefully considered ruling is a positive signal of judicial independence in El Salvador, and to reaffirm it on the same basis would further ensure that the law is applied fairly and in support of justice, honoring and upholding the values of a fair trial. We encourage the Salvadoran justice administrators to foster greater judicial independence and to implement policies that defend environmental activism in line with international treaties on the protection of human rights.
Rather than insisting on prolonging this process any further, the Attorney General’s office should apologize to the five and to the community, and should dedicate themselves to investigating the real war crimes, starting with the massacres that were committed against Santa Marta and other communities.” The people of Santa Marta suffered brutal atrocities during the Civil War, and we join calls for real justice for victims of those war crimes.
This statement is being released by the following 14 organizations, who released an October 18 statement on the initial announcement of the trial verdict: International Allies against Mining in El Salvador, Americas Policy Group/Groupe d’orientation politique pour les Amériques (APG-GOPA), the Central American Alliance on Mining (ACAFREMIN), Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), Common Frontiers, CoDevelopment Canada, the Institute for Policy Studies Trade and Mining Project, InterPares, MiningWatch Canada, Pax Christi International, the SHARE Foundation, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team, The United Church of Canada, and the Washington Ethical Society.
Contacts:
John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies: johnc@ips-dc.org, +1 (202) 297-4823
Pedro Cabezas, Central American Alliance against Mining (ACAFREMIN) and International Allies Against Mining in El Salvador: stopesmining@gmail.com, + (503) 7498-4423
Alexis Stoumbelis, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), alexis@cispes.org, +1 (202) 521-2510 ext. 205
Olivia Alperstein, Institute for Policy Studies: olivia@ips-dc.org, +1 (202) 704-9011
Viviana Herrera, MiningWatch Canada: viviana@miningwatch.ca, +1 (438) 993-1264
Professor Jorge Cuéllar, Member of International Delegation Observing Trial, jorge.cuellar@dartmouth.edu
Professor Bernie Hammond, Member of International Delegation Observing Trial, berniehammond@gmail.com
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The following statement was issued on October 30 in Spanish and then translated into English, from the Santa Marta community, whose community leaders were among those on trial, in response to the announcement of the appeal.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION OF SANTA MARTA (ADES)
October 30, 2024
Original statement URL: https://www.facebook.com/100068774833477/posts/853594720276348/?mibextid=WC7FNe&rdid=fm2h4wJ9HgkUIcfa
We reject the appeal of the Attorney General’s Office and demand that the acquittal of our environmental leaders be upheld.
The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) is still determined to prevent legality and justice from prevailing for the community leaders of Santa Marta and ADES, who were definitively acquitted last October 18 by the Sentencing Court of Sensuntepeque, Cabañas. For this reason, an appeal has been filed before the Criminal Chamber of Cojutepeque.
Despite multiple calls to respect the acquittal of the environmental activists of Cabañas, the Prosecutor’s Office seeks to reverse Sentencing Court’s ruling, which is in accordance with the law and congruent with the principles of due process. The appeal is characterized by a lack of valid legal argumentation and by the disrespectful way in which the representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office refer to the honorable sentencing judges.
In this sense, we ask the magistrates of the Criminal Chamber of Cojutepeque not to admit the appeal and to ratify the decision of the Sentencing Court of Sensuntepeque, which has acted independently, in accordance with the law and without being pressured by extrajudicial factors that conspire to condemn the defenders of water, the environment and life threatened by the possible reactivation of mining.
In this regard, it is worth remembering that the ruling of the Sensuntepeque Sentencing Court responds to the mandate of the Cojutepeque Criminal Chamber which on two occasions transferred the decision to define whether or not the alleged acts constituted crimes against humanity or war crimes over to the Sensuntepeque Sentencing Court.
In accordance with this mandate, the sentencing judges analyzed the case and unanimously determined that the alleged crimes presented by the prosecution did not meet the definition of a crime against humanity or a war crime, as established in the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions, respectively. Therefore, they ruled that the criminal action was inadmissible due to the statute of limitations of the alleged crimes and decreed a definitive dismissal for the defendants.
We alert the country and the world of this attempt by the Salvadoran Attorney General’s Office to continue using the judicial system to persecute environmental activism and manipulate restorative and transitional justice to criminalize environmental defenders who warn about the serious dangers of mining extractivism.
Definitive freedom for the community leaders of Santa Marta and ADES!
Yes to Life, No to Mining!
Cabañas, El Salvador, October 30, 2024.
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ESPAÑOL
Que reafirmen el fallo de inocencia del 18 de octubre en juicio a cinco destacados defensores del agua
San Salvador – El 28 de octubre, la Fiscalía General de la Republica de El Salvador optó por apelar el veredicto histórico en el juicio contra cinco destacados defensores ambientales en El Salvador, quienes fueron arrestados por cargos falsos en enero de 2023.
El 18 de octubre, el tribunal que presidió el juicio de los cinco defensores del agua salvadoreños dictaminó que los cinco son inocentes de los presuntos cargos de asesinato y asociaciones ilícitas de los que se les acusaban.
Lea la declaración oficial en español y traducida al inglés de la comunidad de Santa Marta, El Salvador, cuyos líderes comunitarios estaban entre los juzgados, en respuesta al anuncio de la apelación.
El comunicado denuncia el “intento de la Fiscalía General de la República salvadoreña de seguir utilizando el sistema judicial para perseguir el activismo ambiental y manipular la justicia restaurativa y transicional para criminalizar a los defensores ambientales que alertan sobre los graves peligros de la minería”.
El 1 de noviembre, 14 organizaciones internacionales que han jugado un papel clave en la campaña de solidaridad internacional para denunciar los cargos falsos, y que se pronunciaron sobre el veredicto del 18 de octubre, emitieron el siguiente comentario en respuesta al anuncio de la apelación:
Aplaudimos el veredicto del 18 de octubre del Tribunal de Sentencia de Sensuntepeque que no encontró evidencia alguna de un delito y declaró inocentes a los cinco defensores del agua y los puso en libertad. Condenamos la apelación del Fiscalía del 28 de octubre de este veredicto. Instamos a la Cámara de Apelaciones de Cojutepeque a preservar la justicia y reafirmar la inocencia de los cinco defensores del agua salvadoreños.
El Tribunal de Sentencia de Sensuntepeque dictaminó que los fiscales no proporcionaron evidencia de la existencia de un delito, no pudieron vincular a los acusados con el presunto delito y que el presunto delito en sí no clasificaba como un crimen de lesa humanidad o un crimen de guerra.
A pesar de esa clara resolución, que dictamina que no existe base legal para procesar el caso de los cinco y que no hay pruebas suficientes que establezcan la presencia un crimen, la Fiscalía persiste en su intento de perseguir injustamente a cinco destacados líderes comunitarios, que fueron actores fundamentales en promover la histórica ley de 2017 que prohíbe la minería metálica en El Salvador y que han seguido siendo clave en los esfuerzos para proteger a comunidades salvadoreñas y preservar los bienes naturales.
Esto subraya aún más nuestras preocupaciones de que la administración de Bukele esté tratando de retornar la minería al país, e incluso podría revocar la ley que prohíbe la minería a cambio de la inversión extranjera de corporaciones mineras transnacionales.
Es vital que la justicia siga prevaleciendo. Como organizaciones internacionales, nos unimos a la comunidad de Santa Marta para pedir a la Cámara de Apelaciones Cojutepeque que reafirme el fallo de inocencia del Tribunal de Sentencia de Sensuntepeque.
Ese fallo que puede ser cuidadosamente considerado como una señal positiva de la independencia judicial en El Salvador, y reafirmarlo sobre la misma base legal garantiza aún más que la ley se aplique de manera justa y en favor de la justicia, honrando y defendiendo los valores de un juicio justo. Alentamos a los administradores de justicia salvadoreños a fomentar una mayor independencia judicial e implementar políticas que defiendan el activismo ambiental en función de los tratados internacionales de protección de los derechos humanos.
En lugar de insistir en prolongar más este proceso, la Fiscalía General de la República debería pedir disculpas a los cinco líderes y a la comunidad de Santa Marta, y dedicarse a investigar los verdaderos crímenes de guerra, empezando por las masacres que se cometieron contra la comunidad de Santa Marta y otras comunidades. La comunidad de Santa Marta sufrió atrocidades brutales durante la Guerra Civil, y nos sumamos a los llamados para que se haga justicia real a las víctimas de esos crímenes de guerra.
Esta declaración la publican las siguientes 14 organizaciones, que publicaron una declaración el 18 de octubre después del veredicto del juicio: Aliados Internacionales contra la Minería en El Salvador, Americas Policy Group/Groupe d’orientation politique pour les Amériques (APG-GOPA), the Alianza Centroamericana Frente a la Minería (ACAFREMIN), Comité de Solidaridad con el Pueblo el El Salvador (CISPES), Fronteras Comunes, CoDevelopment Canada, Instituto de Estudios Políticos – Proyecto Minería y Comercio, InterPares, MiningWatch Canada, Pax Christi Internacional, Fundacion SHARE, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team, Iglesia Unida de Canadá, Sociedad Ética de Washington.
Contactos:
John Cavanagh, Instituto de Estudios Politicos (IPS): johnc@ips-dc.org, +1 (202) 297-4823
Pedro Cabezas, Alianza Centroamericana Frente a la Mineria (ACAFREMIN) y Aliados Internacionales contra la Minería en El Salvador: stopesmining@gmail.com, + (503) 7498-4423
Alexis Stoumbelis, Comité en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de El Salvador (CISPES), alexis@cispes.org, +1 (202) 521-2510 ext. 205
Olivia Alperstein, Instituto de Estudios Políticos (IPS): olivia@ips-dc.org, +1 (202) 704-9011
Viviana Herrera, MiningWatch Canada: viviana@miningwatch.ca, +1 (438) 993-1264
Profesor Jorge Cuéllar, Miembro de la Delegation de Observación Internacional, jorge.cuellar@dartmouth.edu
Profesor Bernie Hammond, Miembro de la Delegation de Observación Internacional, berniehammond@gmail.com
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