Nelson García
Nelson García was killed in the aftermath of a violent eviction conducted in Río Lindo, Department of Cortés, Honduras. The human rights defender was a member of Consejo Civico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras – COPINH (Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras). COPINH has been active for over 20 years campaigning for the defence of the territory and rights of the Lenca people and the organisation has led fierce campaigns against illegal logging and mega-projects for their detrimental effects on the rights of indigenous peoples in the country.
Human rights defenders suffer extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment as well as judicial harassment, threats and stigmatisation. Journalists, lawyers, prosecutors, those defending the rights of women, children, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community, indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities, and those working on environmental and land rights issues are particularly at risk.
