Theft of case files in environmentalist killing worries UN

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – The United Nations office in Honduras expressed concern about last week’s theft of case files in the killing of environmental activist Berta Caceres.

The office called on the Honduran government Monday “to recover the stolen information and carry out a rapid and efficient independent investigation.”

Unidentified assailants stole the files from the car of appeals court justice Maria Luis Ramos in Tegucigalpa, the capital. Supreme Court President Rolando Argueta said it was normal for judges to take home case files, but said the practice has now been forbidden.

Authorities have arrested a half dozen suspects in the March killing of Caceres, including a man who worked for the hydroelectric project that she opposed. Caceres led the defence of the Gualcarque River in western Honduras against the proposed Agua Zarca dam.