[ad_1]
Felix Vasquez, a defender of environmental and human rights, died on Saturday night time after the assault within the village El Ocotal, in central Honduras.
A legislation enforcement spokesman instructed Reuters the killing was beneath investigation.
“Police authorities instantly determined to provoke a corresponding investigation… we hope to have a solution quickly,” police official Kevin Hernandez instructed journalists.
Honduras is likely one of the world’s most harmful nations for activists, with 14 land and environmental defenders killed final 12 months, up from 4 folks in 2018, in response to knowledge made accessible by advocacy group World Witness.
Vasquez, a member of the indigenous Lenca group, which lives within the mountainous area close to the border with El Salvador, had meant to run for Congress as a member of the opposition LIBRE celebration in 2021 elections.
He had filed complaints to nationwide authorities beginning in 2017 over alleged political persecution resulting from his work in environmental activism, in response to the Coalition in opposition to Impunity (CCI), a non-government group.
“The state is instantly liable for his homicide resulting from its omissions within the face of the intense dangers of which it was duly conscious,” the CCI stated.
The Honduran authorities didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Vasquez’s killing comes 4 years after the assassination of Lenca indigenous activist Berta Caceres, a veteran land rights defender who led a battle in opposition to a significant dam on ancestral lands earlier than she was shot to loss of life at her dwelling.
[ad_2]
