Honduras: Overturn the Sentence of Cesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa

Cesario Padilla (centre), reading a statement denouncing a decade of criminalisation, at a press conference in front of the Judiciary in Tegucigalpa. PHOTO: Andrés Molina.

RAN 09/20

09 February: PEN International urges the Honduran authorities to overturn the sentence of journalist, board member and founding member of PEN Honduras Cesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa, cease the legal harassment against him, and ensure he is granted a fair trial.

"The case of Padilla Figueroa illustrates the machinery of impunity in Honduras and the barriers to accessing justice.  By overturning his sentence, the Honduran authorities have the opportunity to make an impact on the history of human rights. PEN International calls for an end to this unjustifiable persecution," said Romana Cacchioli, Executive Director of PEN International.

Padilla Figueroa has faced nearly a decade of rights restrictions and prosecution in retaliation for exercising his freedom of expression, culminating in a conviction and a sentence. Since 2014, he has been harassed for his involvement in student protests, advocating against university privatization and enduring ongoing surveillance, barriers to the practice of journalism, brief detentions, and threats.

On 7 June 2017, Padilla Figueroa and fellow students, Moisés David Cáceres and Sergio Luis Ulloa were convicted of ‘usurpation’ (‘usurpación’) at the National Autonomous University of Honduras- UNAH (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras). The sentence was issued by a judge and recorded in an audio. However, it was not transcribed or delivered in a document to Padilla Figueroa for three years, making it impossible for the journalist to pursue appeals or a new trial and therefore to access justice.

In September 2020, they were found guilty of the crime of “illegal detention of public property”, and sentenced to three years in prison, forced labor while in prison, suspension of their rights, and payment of damages to UNAH.

In 2023, human rights lawyers sought amnesty for Padilla Figueroa and called for an end to the criminalisation against him. However, the request was rejected by the Public Prosecutor's Office following an ad-hoc hearing on 29 January 2024. On 31 January 2024, the Presiding Judge issued a ruling denying the  amnesty after hearing the parties. Subsequently, on 5 February, the Defence filed an appeal to rectify the judge's decision and sought to close the case through an amnesty for politically persecuted people. Padilla faces a civil trial to pay UNAH $187,000 in damages, with non-payment potentially leading to a prison sentence.

PEN International believes that Cesario Padilla Figueroa, Moisés David Cáceres and Sergio Luis Ulloa are being persecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, enshrined in the Honduran Constitution (Articles 72-75 and 79), as well as in the American Convention on Human Rights (Articles 13 and 15) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 19 and 21), to which Honduras is a State Party.

TAKE ACTION

Advocacy

Call on the authorities of the Republic of Honduras to:

·       Overturn the sentence of Padilla Figueroa, prosecuted for exercising his right to freedom of expression and assembly;

·       Take all necessary measures to ensure that UNAH students can exercise their right to freedom of expression, including peaceful protest;

·       Uphold the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which affirmed that ‘the right to publicly protest is an essential element of freedom of expression.’

Call on the University Authorities to:

·       Secure a pardon for Cesario Padilla and his fellow students as a clear measure to end the persecution of the protests.

• Decriminalize student protests and enable student participation in UNAH’s decision-making bodies, ensuring that conflicts within the institution are resolved through inclusive dialogue, in accordance with international law.

Send appeals to:

Supreme Court of Justice
President- Ms. Rebeca Lizeth Ráquel Obando
Email: comunicaciones@poderjudicial.gob.hn
X/Twitter: @RebecaRaquelO

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras | National Autonomous University of Honduras
Rector of the University - UNAH Dr. Odir Fernández
Email: odir.fernandez@unah.edu.hn
X/Twitter: @UNAH_Rectory

Please send a copy of your appeal to the Embassy of Honduras in your country. Contant details can be found here.

Consider calling on your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic representatives in Honduras to raise Padilla Figueroa’s case in bilateral and multilateral fora.

*** Please send appeals immediately ***

Social media

Share information about Cesario Padilla’s case and your campaigning activities on social media.

Outreach

PEN members are encouraged to:

·       Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the case of Padilla Figueroa and freedom of expression in Honduras;

·       Interview Cesario Padilla for your social media or media outlets in your country.

*** Please inform PEN International of any action you take and of any responses you receive ***

Background

In December 2014, Cesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa and five other UNAH students were arbitrarily suspended from the university after taking part in protests against the privatisation of UNAH and for the democratisation of the institution’s governing bodies. They were subsequently re-admitted after a ruling by the Honduran Supreme Court of Justice in February 2015.

As protests continued, in 2015 Padilla Figueroa and colleagues founded the Human Rights Defence Committee (Comité Pro Defensa de los Derechos Humanos) to document human rights abuses occurring as a result of the protests. Later that same year, on 17 July, Padilla Figueroa – along with fellow students Moisés David Cáceres and Sergio Luis Ulloa – was charged with ‘usurpation’ (‘usurpación’) of UNAH property under Article 227 of the Honduran Penal Code, for participating in the occupation of a university building during a student protest.

During a hearing on 7 August, the Public Prosecutor reportedly requested a three-year sentence, along with other penalties. According to PEN Honduras, Padilla Figueroa and his colleagues were left in legal uncertainty as they awaited a written copy of the sentence, necessary to file an appeal.

Shortly following Padilla Figueroa’s conviction, the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras reportedly stated: “The office expresses its grave concern regarding the ruling made in relation to the crime of ‘usurpation’, considering that on repeated occasions, the office has signalled – both publicly and in our discussions with judicial officials – that the use of this type of crime in the context of the criminalisation of social protest presents serious problems in light of international human rights standards.”

On 13 June 2015, PEN International and PEN Honduras urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to intervene in the case of Padilla Figueroa and the other students, seeking ‘precautionary measures’ to oblige the Honduran state to protect the students’ right to freedom of expression, association, and education, and to ensure a thorough investigation into alleged abuse of authority and human rights abuses within UNAH.

PEN International has documented the harassment and surveillance of Padilla Figueroa  for years, most notably through statements in 2015, 2016 and 2020; a 2016 Resolution on Honduras, PEN’s Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2016 and 2017, and Case Lists, among others.

For more information, please contact Alicia Quiñones, Head of Americas Region, at PEN International, email: alicia.quinones@pen-international.org.