No One Will Halt our Fight against Corruption and Crime in Honduras

Declaration by the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ) in response to recent statements by Honduran National Party Congressman Óscar Nájera.

Congressman Nájera made intimidating, harsh, and denigrating comments through several different media channels against ASJ Executive Director Carlos Hernández and Advocacy Director Omar Rivera, after a group of U.S. Congress members requested that the U.S. government investigate Nájera through the Magnitsky Act:

1) We celebrate that members of the House of Representatives in the United States are interested in investigating the behavior of Honduran public servants in order to determine if they have committed human rights violations, acts of corruption, or other crimes, and in this way sanction officials through the Global Magnitsky Act. Without a doubt, this type of action strengthens the work that state institutions and civil society organizations are already carrying out in Honduras.

2) We condemn that after being called out for investigation by the United States, Congressman Nájera has begun a barrage of put-downs, unfounded accusations, and slander against our colleagues Carlos Hernández and Omar Rivera, and that he has both directly and indirectly accused the leaders and staff of our organization of orchestrating the situation he finds himself in, completely ignoring that the situation he faces is the result of his own actions, and not the actions of anyone else.

3) We hold Congressman Nájera responsible for any physical, moral, or psychological condition that he may cause our colleagues Carlos Hernández and Omar Rivera, their families, or any other collaborator or ally of ASJ. The actions of Congressman Nájera encourage hatred and animosity by those who, like him, are being accused of having committed unlawful acts or are being prosecuted by judicial bodies in Honduras and abroad.

4) Beginning today, we will make the appropriate reports with national and international organizations that guarantee the rights and liberties of citizens, so that they may take pertinent precautionary measures for our colleagues Carlos Hernández and Omar Rivera.

5) No one will halt our fight against corruption and crime in Honduras, or prevent us from continuing to fulfill our mission to work for a society where justice prevails, and the governmental system works and is just, especially for the most vulnerable.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras. August 6th, 2018