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Political prisoners Edwin Espinal & Raul Alvarez freed from Honduran military prison

see below: Update from Janet Spring, Edwin Espinal’s mother-in-law (from Elmvale, Ontario, Canada)

This is how hard work and struggle are against repressive, corrupt, undemocratic regimes
Commentary by Grahame Russell, Rights Action
 
Edwin and Raul never should have been detained in the first place, let alone stuck in a maximum security Honduran military prison, “awaiting trial.”

The corrupt, repressive Honduran regime would not be able to continue to violate the rights of its own people without the past 10 years of unconditional political, military and economic support of Canada, the U.S., and multiple actors in the so-called “international community” (including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and a host of multi-national companies).

The judiciary and legal system, and the penitentiary system are themselves tools of repression in the hands of this regime.

The struggle to liberate Edwin and Raul – led in Honduras by Edwin’s partner Karen Spring and many courageous women-human rights defenders; led in Canada by Edwin’s mother-in-law Janet Spring and many supporters – was a struggle against the impunity and corruption of the Honduras regime and also against the complicity and indifference of the U.S., Canada and other actors in this ‘international community’.

We wish huge strength for Edwin and Raul as they begin to deal with the trauma of their brutal detention, as they proceed to defend themselves in Honduras’ corrupted court system against the trumped up charges, as they seek reparations for their unjust incarceration and suffering, and as they and millions of Hondurans continue with the 10 years-and-counting struggle to rid Honduras of its U.S., Canada and ‘international community’-backed regime.

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Edwin Espinal released on recognizance
By Janet Spring, August 10, 2019
 
The Simcoe County Honduras Rights Monitor is delighted to announce that yesterday in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, political prisoners Edwin Espinal and Raul Alvarez were ordered released on their own recognizance. Their court case begins next week.  It has been more than 18 months since Espinal was imprisoned on trumped-up charges and the Springwater-based group was formed to campaign for his release. Two large meetings were held in Elmvale and the fight for justice in Honduras has engaged politicians of all parties and individuals across Canada.
 
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Honduran regime leader Juan Orlando Hernandez directly implicated in drug trafficking in US court documents
By Janet Spring, August 8, 2019
 
In the past few days, news releases have been sent out by four US mainstream magazines and news outlets. They have all reported that US court documents have linked President Juan Orlando Hernandez to serious drug trafficking in Honduras.
 
Univision News reports that a 44-page New York court document labels Hernandez as a “violent, multi-ton drug trafficker who allegedly abused his political connections for personal and political gain and at least twice helped arrange murders of drug trafficking rivals.” For further information, the full article may be retrieved at: https://www.univision.com/univision-news/latin-america/president-of-honduras-implicated-in-1-5-million-drug-money-conspiracy-by-new-york-prosecutor