Charges of slander were brought before a lower court by the private security company, SETECH, stemming from ASJ’s investigation into the death Dionisio Diaz Garcia, a human rights lawyer who worked for ASJ.

Christian Reformed Church in North America officials have sent a letter to leaders of the government in Honduras, asking that a Calvin College sociology professor, who is also a co-founder of the Association for a more Just Society (AJS), receive a fair hearing on charges of slander that go before the Honduran Supreme Court later this week.

Charges of slander were brought before a lower court by the private security company, SETECH, stemming from ASJ’s investigation into the death Dionisio Diaz Garcia, a human rights lawyer who worked for ASJ. ASJ had implicated SETECH in the death, which ultimately began the slander proceeding. ASJ is the ancronym that comes from the Spanish words for the Honduran Christian organization, Asociacion para una Sociedad mas Justa.

“We are pleased that this case will finally be judged by an appropriate court of law… we are confident that justice will be done; that organizations and individuals working legally for a just and fair Honduras will be safe to pursue that vision,” says the letter.

The letter was signed by Rev. Jerry Dykstra, Executive Director of the CRCNA; Andrew Ryskamp, a director for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee; Gary Bekker, director of Christian Reformed World Missions, and Gaylen Byker, president of Calvin College.

The letter also discusses the concern that the CRCNA has over the assassination of Diaz Garcia. The CRC was deeply disturbed “when it happened in 2006 and disturbs us still,” CRCNA officials write in the letter that was sent late last week.

“If a respected human rights lawyer from … an organization we strongly support can be killed with little or no consequences for those who ordered the killing, we fear for the safety of all our associated and staff in Honduras.”

While the two who actually assassinated Garcia were convicted, those who “plotted and paid for this murder have yet to be brought justice,” says the letter. Meanwhile, those convicted of actually killing Garcia have appealed their convictions, which are now before the Supreme Court.

Kurt Ver Beek, who along with Jo Ann Van Engen helps run a study-abroad program for Calvin College, has been charged (in lieu of ASJ) in the case going before the Honduran Supreme Court Ver Beek is a co-founder and board member of ASJ. “We are puzzled by the two denied appeals and by the delays and unusual handling of this case since SETECH first filed charges against ASJ in January 2007,” says the letter.

The letter has been sent to Porfirio Lobo Sosa, President of Honduras, Jorge Rivera, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, and Louis Alberto Rubi, the Honduran Attorney General. Copies have also gone out to U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, and Representatives Vernon Ehlers and Peter Hoekstra, all of Michigan.

“ASJ is an organization close to our hearts. CRWRC, one of our church’s ministries, partners with ASJ to make psychological counseling and legal aid available to residents of poor communities in Tegucigalpa and Olancho,” says the letter.

The letter goes on the say that CRC officials have the understanding that the Honduras’ Ministry of Labor has done its own investigation that determined the SETECH “routinely violates Honduran labor standards … that SETECH has used many different strategies to harass ASJ and prevent them from speaking out about these labor violations.”

The CRCNA has close ties to and has been a supporter of Ver Beek and ASJ.

“ASJ and its dedicated staff are forces for good in our world,” says the letter. “Honduras needs organizations like ASJ and we in the US and around the globe need their courageous example as we work for justice and fairness in our own countries and societies,” says the letter.

SOURCE: http://www.crcna.org/news.cfm?newsid=1811&section=1

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