The criminal trial of eight men accused over the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres will begin in Honduras on Monday amid accusations of a political cover-up. Cáceres was shot dead just before midnight on 2 March 2016 at her home in La Esperanza in western Honduras, after a long battle against a hydroelectric dam project on sacred Lenca territory.

The murder sparked international condemnation and confirmed Honduras’ ranking as the most dangerous country in the world for environment and land rights defenders.

Gustavo Castro, a Mexican environmentalist, was also shot in the attack but survived by pretending to be dead. The eight defendants are also accused of his attempted murder. All eight deny the charges. Cáceres, who was coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras (Copinh), led opposition to the internationally financed Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque river, which triggered a wave of repression including violent evictions, surveillance, sexual harassment, false criminal charges, multiple death threats and, ultimately, her murder. The dam was licensed to the company Desarrollos Energéticos SA (Desa).(theguardian)…[+]