Miriam Miranda

Organization: Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH)

Activity: Territorial defense

Attacks experienced: Threats, Arbitrary detention

FACTS – On Wednesday, January 11th, agents of the National Police tried to arrest the Coordinator of the Black Fraternal Organzation of Honduras (OFRANEH) near the La Ceiba Shipyard on the northern coast of Honduras.

The policemen stopped the vehicle in which the defender and other OFRANEH members were tràveling, requested documentation, and then ordered them to get out of their vehicle. When Miriam Miranda refused, one of the agents tried to prevent them from moving on and threatened to take the defender to jail. Miriam Miranda then contacted comrades of the National Women Defenders Network of Honduras, who immediately alerted the news media, as well as human rights organizations and agencies, prompting the police to desist and allow the defender and her companions to go on their way.

Miriam Miranda is a widely recognized human rights defender with more than 30 years of experience in the field. She was granted precautionary measures by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) after having been the target of a number of attacks, including threats, criminalization, kidnapping and police violence, all of which were due to her work in defense of the rights of the Garifuna people.

We, of IM-Defensoras, hereby express our concern over these police actions that place the defender in a situation of serious risk, especially considering that Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries on the planet for defenders of human rights, particularly territorial rights.

Accordingly, we demand that the Honduran government comply with its obligation of guaranteeing the safety and security of Miriam Miranda, and we call on International organizations and agencies to stay on the alert for future developments in this situation.