After an 18-month suspension of the preliminary hearings to decide whether to open trial against David Castillo, a Honduran court finally announced on 26 August that he will face an oral and public trial. A military intelligence officer trained at West Point, David Castillo<\/a> is also a known businessman linked to the Atala Zablah family. The Atalah Zablah business group forms part of the Board of Directors for the hydroelectric extractive project on Rio Blanco, against which Honduran environmental activist Berta C\u00e1ceres was fighting before her murder.<\/p>\n

The decision to take Castillo to an oral and public trial was made just before his pre-trial detention ended on 2 September. Castillo was arrested in March 2018, two years after Lenca defender Berta C\u00e1ceres was murdered at her home in La Esperanza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want it to be a fair trial where all rights are respected. Anything that is done wrong will be to the detriment of the search for justice,\u201d said Bertha Z\u00fanica, daughter of the Lenca defender and Coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras (COPINH).<\/p>\n

C\u00e1ceres was murdered<\/a> on 2 March 2016.\u00a0Seven men were convicted as perpetrators of the crime.<\/a>\u00a0The trial against Castillo, who was arrested and put in pre-trial detention since 2 March 2018, is long anticipated, as he is the only alleged mastermind detained so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid\u00a0Castillo is a key actor, connecting the perpetrators of Berta\u2019s murder with the masterminds, who still go unpunished\u201d, said Bertha Z\u00faniga in this interview with Real World Radio.<\/p>\n

Roberto David Castillo Mej\u00eda is a Honduran businessman, former government employee who was part of the Supervisory Board of the National Electric Power Utility, and former military intelligence officer who graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point.<\/p>\n

Evidence presented by the legal representatives of the C\u00e1ceres family linking Castillo with the murder includes two series of WhatsApp chats, explained Z\u00faniga. One of the chats is called\u00a0\u201cPHAZ Security\u201d<\/a> (acronym of Agua Zarca Hydroelectric Project in Spanish), where Castillo makes reference to \u201cattack and neutralisation\u201d actions to \u201cend with COPINH\u2019s struggle,\u201d since the organisation has been fighting against the construction of a dam on R\u00edo Blanco. The other chat was between Castillo and Douglas Bustillo, former head of security of DESA, who was tried and convicted as one of the perpetrators of the murder<\/a>, and who repeatedly threatened Berta C\u00e1ceres.<\/p>\n

They also presented messages from Castillo to State officials and members of the Atala Zablah family, one of the most powerful families in Honduras. \u201cWe therefore suggest that this is a criminal structure created to put an end to COPINH\u2019s resistance to both the Agua Zarca project and our country\u2019s economic system,\u201d said Z\u00faniga.<\/p>\n

Castillo had a close relationship with Daniel Atala, financial manager of the company in charge of Agua Zarca. Also, before her murder on 2 March 2016, Berta C\u00e1ceres received several messages from the military officer\/businessman. Her daughter Bertha explains that these messages were \u201cpart of his intelligence work\u201d – not threats like some of the messages from the convicted perpetrators, but rather offering projects to COPINH in order to \u201cweaken the struggle\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bertha feels that political will is needed to prosecute the main culprits of the crime against her mother, the Atala Zablah family.<\/p>\n

Getting to this trial has not been easy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first trial over the murder of Berta C\u00e1ceres was delayed multiple times and\u00a0the court even removed the legal representatives of the C\u00e1ceres family<\/a>, COPINH and Gustavo Castro (a member of Otros Mundos Chiapas\/Friends of the Earth Mexico whose attempted murder was also part of this process.) Similarly, during the preliminary hearing for this second oral and public trial, Berta\u2019s daughters were \u201cexpelled\u201d from the online hearing, and the members of the international observation mission that monitors the case were not allowed to be present.<\/p>\n

In response to these new limitations which hinder the participation of Berta\u2019s family, COPINH and international observers, Z\u00faniga insisted on the need for the international community to pay as much attention as possible to this new process, to ensure that the case does not go unpunished.<\/p>\n

The oral and public trial should start in three months at the latest, considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential appeals and suspensions of the judicial process. Castillo\u2019s defence aims to delay the trial, denounced Z\u00faniga.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us [the announcement of the trial] has been a relief. We were very worried that the pre-trial detention term would end, and that protection of victims\u2019 rights would not be ensured.\u201d Bertha warns that it took a lot of effort to reach this point and that they remain alert to potential unusual or last-minute changes, as happened with the judge who was replaced two days before the recent preliminary hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is great pressure at the level of communications media and the judicial system, but we trust that the evidence is there, and that it is strong\u201d, concluded the member of COPINH.<\/p>\n

Who is David Castillo?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Castillo is accused of being one of the masterminds of Berta C\u00e1ceres\u2019 murder. He has been in pre-trial detention since March 2018. It was important that the preliminary hearing took place as soon as possible, before the end of this detention period.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidence presented to Honduran courts by prosecutors suggests that Castillo participated in the murder of Berta C\u00e1ceres as an intellectual author, allegedly coordinating with, and presumably providing funds to, the material authors for the purpose of carrying out the murder\u201d, states the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sent a lot of messages to my mother. We were aware of the fact that he was dangerous, but he wasn’t the typical thug,\u201d said Bertha Z\u00faniga to RWR. COPINH stated: \u201cThe evidence linking Castillo is clear. He is the connection between the masterminds and the criminal structure that perpetrated the crime. The trial will reveal the involvement of the Atala family in the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

A year ago, COPINH launched the report Violence, Corruption and Impunity in the Honduran Energy Industry:<\/a> The profile of Roberto David Castillo Mej\u00eda<\/a>. \u201cThe report exposes the criminal structure that has benefited from this concession (to DESA) to obtain profits, a pattern seen not only in Agua Zarca, but in other energy projects in Honduras as well\u201d, said Bertha Z\u00fa\u00f1iga.<\/p>\n

At the time of the report launch, the C\u00e1ceres family had started a judicial process in the US to demand \u201cfinancial details\u201d about the purchase of a house in Texas on behalf of David Castillo valued at 1.6 million dollars. \u201cThe aim was to find out if this purchase was related to some payment (he may have received) for murdering (or ordering the murder) of Berta C\u00e1ceres.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about this, Z\u00faniga confirmed that there has been some progress in this claim, despite \u201cthe many actions by Castillo\u2019s lawyers, likely paid by Atala Zablah, to hinder the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that if our legal team can access this information, this would allow us to know what actions took place before and after the murder of my mother, and know if that money had something to do with a payment or compensation for ordering the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"