A group of Simcoe County residents was detained and interrogated at a Honduran airport earlier this week.
The five detained were part of a seven-person delegation to Honduras pushing for the release of Edwin Espinal and other political prisoners detained since the violent elections of November 2017.
Espinal is a Honduran with family in Elmvale, Ont. He is the partner of Karen Spring, who grew up in Simcoe County and has been working in Honduras with an international human rights organization called Rights Action. Espinal was arrested on Jan. 19 after an anonymous social media campaign accused him of having ties to criminal organizations and drug cartels. He has been arrested and tortured before for his involvement in human rights abuse protests. Today he is being held in La Tolva prison, a high security, military-run prison that is overcrowded and unsanitary. There are also reports of riots, violence and mental torture of prisoners. Espinal is among a group of political prisoners being held at La Tolva. There were 23 prisoners arrested around the same time as Espinal, 17 have since been released as a result of international and national efforts, including pressure coming from Simcoe County residents.
On May 22, a delegation of seven people from Simcoe County, with connections to Karen Spring, arrived at Tegucigalpa airport and five were detained and interrogated.
Karen Spring, her mother Janet Spring, Jesse Freeston (a documentary filmmaker), Meg Jordan (a United Church Reverend) and William Reeves (an emergency physician) were all detained at the airport.
“They interrogated Karen for an hour, then called the rest of us individually for questioning,” said Janet Spring in an email to Collingwood Today. “Karen was really worried that they would deport her ... deny her entry … It was a really upsetting ordeal as we were specifically targeted. There were quite a few immigration staff there, probably put there to deal with the delegation.”
After four hours, the five being detained were released and met up with the other two in their delegation – Ben Powless (photographer) and Grahame Russell (director for Rights Action Canadian division) – as well as other Honduran human rights defenders.
According to a press release issued by the delegation, the members were grilled on their interests in and concern for human rights issues since the November 2017 elections.
“The delegation has requested meetings with various Honduran government officials including the Attorney General and the National Penitentiary Institute responsible for the conditions that Edwin (Espinal) is being held in,” said Karen Spring.
She has not heard from Espinal in more than 45 days. The delegation did go to La Tolva on May 23, but were denied entry by masked guards carrying automatic weapons.
“We have also asked the Canadian Embassy to help us visit the prison and bring food and water to Edwin and another political prisoner, Raul Alvarez, being held with him,” said Karen Spring.
At La Tolva, Karen and Janet Spring pleaded with the guards to let them see Espinal, since they are members of his family. Though Honduran law says family members cannot be denied entry, the director of the prison turned them away. Karen Spring explained at an April meeting in Elmvale, rule of law does not exist in Honduras.
The same director previously turned Karen Spring away in February when she tried to visit.
According to Janet, the director of La Tolva told them they needed paperwork to show they are leaving the country in the next 30 days, and suggested they had a good chance of getting in.
The group is returning today to try again.
“We plan to travel to La Tolva (a two-hour drive) each day until we are successful in gaining access to Edwin,” said Janet Spring.
While in Honduras, the Simcoe County delegation will be accompanied by the Honduran human rights organization called the Committee of the Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared in Honduras, who are Espinal’s legal representatives. The delegation will be working with the Convergence Against Re-election and the National Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners. The delegation returns Monday, May 28, and will be sharing their experience and findings once they are home with both the Honduran and the Canadian government as well as the media and the public.
