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Article

3 Dec 2019

Author:
Al Jazeera

Berta Caceres: Seven men sentenced to jail in Honduras

…A Honduras court sentenced seven men to prison for the 2016 murder of environmental activist Berta Caceres, a killing that sparked international outrage…

Since 2006, she organised opposition to the $50m Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam, where construction came to a halt after completing about one-fifth of the project.

"Five of those accused of the murder ... were sentenced to 50 years in jail and another two to a term of 30 years," said court spokeswoman Lucia Villars…

Activists criticised the dam on the Gualcarque River for what they said would probably cause significant disruptions to their water and food supply and faulted the project for a lack of required indigenous consultations…

Those already convicted include an employee of the Honduran project operator Desarrollos Energeticos (DESA), an active-duty military officer, and a retired army officer who was a DESA employee.

While DESA ran the project, Chinese state-owned Sinohydro, one of the world's largest dam developers, was originally contracted to build it but eventually backed out in 2013.

The sentences announced on Monday, nearly a year after the seven men were convicted, were harshly criticised by Caceres's daughter Olivia Zuniga, who alleged prosecutors sidestepped the main culprits…

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