"Honduran government must counter smear campaign against land and environmental defenders and protect those under threat", 16 Mar 2017

Global Witness is calling on the Honduran state to crack down on an online smear campaign against groups working to protect land and environmental defenders in Honduras... “We don’t yet know who is behind this campaign... We do know this is an attempt to deflect attention from the high level corruption and abuses we exposed...” said..campaigner Ben Leather... In January Global Witness published the findings of its...investigation...[demonstrating]...Honduras is the deadliest country per capita for land and environmental defenders [and] how projects...are linked to rich and powerful elites... Since this time, members of...MILPAH and COPINH have been subject to increased...harassment, ...other defenders have been threatened with lawsuits by companies.  Global Witness and its international partners including Oxfam and Frontline Defenders have meanwhile been subject to a smear campaign on social media... [T]weets and videos even accuse[d] the groups of covering up for hitmen...who have carried out attacks. “Global Witness is an internationally renowned organisation, with over 20 years of reputable reporting. Winner of both the Skoll Award and the Ted Prize in 2014, the organisation is not aligned to any political party or movement...” said Leather. “Our report on Honduras was the fruit of a two-year investigation which involved...painstaking... corroboration of witness testimony...".