KILLER GETS 21 YEARS, DRIVER GIVEN 20 YEARS 6 MONTHS

Ramón Eusebio Solís, the person who shot and killed Dionisio Díaz García, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison, while César Daniel Amador, the driver of the motorcycle during the Dec. 2006 assassination, has been sentenced to 20 years and six months. The sentences were announced in a Honduran court on March 19. Neither of the accused nor their defense lawyer were present for the sentencing. Prosecuting lawyers, who were asking for the maximum sentence of 30 years, will now have 20 days to decide if they wish to appeal the sentences.

Hit-Men Receive Sentence March 19

Prosecution Asks for Maximum Penalty: 30 Years

On Thurs., March 19 at 1:45 p.m., the Tribunal that presided over last month's trial will inform the defense, the prosecution, and the convicted hit-men of the exact number of years they'll have to spend in prison as a result of their murder of Labor Rights Project lawyer Dionisio Díaz García.

On the morning of March 18 a brief hearing was held so that the prosecution and defense could each postulate to the Tribunal how long they think the convicts' sentences should be.

Prosecutor German Enamorado asked that the maximum penalty, 30 years, be applied, citing that Ramón Solís, the shooter, had been previously arrested on charges of a separate murder; that César Amador, the motorcycle driver, had been an active-duty police officer when he participated in the murder, thus not only violating the law but also his duties as a public official; and noting that the murder had been carried out in a highly premeditated fashion.

Defense lawyer Marcelino Vargas, unsurprisingly, asked for the minimum penalty of 20 years incarceration be applied, noting that neither Solís nor Amador had been convicted in any previous case.

Accused assassins found GUILTY!

A guilty verdict has been delivered against Ramóm Eusebio Solís and César Daniel Amador for the December 2006 assassination of the "lawyer of the poor," Dionisio Diaz Garcia, a Honduran lawyer supported by the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ).

ASJ greeted the verdict by issuing a statement saying that "today is an historic day in the annals of Honduran history because of this victory for justice."

The tribunal of justices rendered their verdict on Friday afternoon, Feb. 27, following a four-day adjournment because one of the judges had been hospitalized after a severe allergic reaction to a bee or wasp sting.

Just before 5:00 p.m. EST / 4:00 p.m. Honduras time, judge Mario Rolando Díaz greeted a courtroom even more packed than it was this morning.

He briefly reviewed the evidence, then announced the verdict he and his fellow members of the tribunal had reached: Ramón Eusebio Solís was guilty of shooting Dionisio to death, and César Amador was guilty of driving the motorcycle they used to commit the murder and flee the scene of the crime.

Both face 20-30 years imprisonment. They will receive their sentences on March 18.

This historic event would not have been possible without God's hand in events (e.g., the apearance of Protected Witness Z, who God gave the courage to testify in a trial that put the witness at risk and that promised no personal gain to him; the fact that the killers wore no masks or helmets while committing the crime, enabling their clear identification), and without the strength He has given all of us during the nearly 27 months since Dionisio was killed.

Please join us in giving thanks to the King of Justice for the work He has done today.

We are overjoyed at the result of this trial. Not only has justice been done for Dionisio, but a precedent has been set for Honduras: using violence against those who "encourage the oppressed and defend the orphan and the widow" (Isaiah 1:17) may no longer seem as viable alternative to the agents of oppression as it once did.

But there is still more to be done.

Ramón Solís and César Amador were simply acting out the will of other, more powerful people who preferred to farm out their "dirty work." These "intellectual authors" of the murder must also be brought to justice in order to fully do justice for Dionisio, and to show Honduras that paying others to kill will be no more tolerated than murdering people oneself.

There's no doubt this case is being closely watched all over Honduras: the courtroom was so packed that the bailiffs had to bring in extra seats. Among those in the crowd were the head of all the prosecutors in Honduras, a representative from the U.S. Embassy, and even a TV news crew.

Today's hearing consisted of each side making their conclusions. Prosecutor German Enamorado narrated a powerful review of all the evidence and testimony implicating Solís and Amador, pointed out the numerous inconsistencies in the testimonies of the defense's witnesses, and asked the Tribunal to find the accused guilty and sentence them to 20 to 30 years imprisonment.

For his part, defense lawyer Marcelino Vargas tried to cast doubt on the reliability of Protected Witness Z, the eyewitness to the murder; said that the papers found in Amador´s house containing information about Dionisio and ASJ and with Solís' name written on them were "irrelevant," though his justification for this assertion was unclear; reiterated the accused's alibis; and reminded the tribunal that the accused were innocent until proven guilty.

Before retiring for deliberation, the Tribunal invited Dionisio's widow, Lourdes Alvir, to make a statement. Voice quavering, she said that Dionisio was a good person whose greatest desire in life was to help others, and that all she asked of the Tribunal was to do justice for him.

Que Dios le bendiga,
Abram Huyser Honig
Fundraising, Communications, and Advocacy
Association for a More Just Society (AJS)