00:00Courts in Honduras have issued a formal indictment against grassroots leader Melvin Ceballos
00:06seeking a six-year prison sentence for the crimes of coercion and making threats stemming
00:10from his participation in a peaceful protest in July 2025 in which he denounced the manipulation
00:15of the electoral data transmission system.
00:18Gerardo Torres Zelaya has the details.
00:23Melvin Ceballos is a humble leader within the Libre party who organizes people in the
00:28markets and in the poorest areas of the Honduran capital.
00:32In July 2025, he joined hundreds of others in protest against the illegal alterations
00:38of the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission system.
00:43Following the elections in November of last year, it was proven that the system had indeed
00:48been compromised, yet no investigation into those responsible has taken place.
00:53Nevertheless, authorities are now seeking a six-year prison sentence for Ceballos and those
00:59who took part in the protests.
01:02This is clear political persecution by state entities, something that is unheard of.
01:08The fact that someone is being targeted for speaking out against electoral fraud is shocking.
01:13This is exactly what is happening.
01:15They want to criminalize protests because the situation in the country is deteriorating.
01:20We are witnessing things that were once unimaginable for this nation.
01:25People need to understand that these mobilizations are peaceful and respect the constitution of
01:30the republic.
01:31A humble person fighting for genuine democracy in Honduras should not be criminalized.
01:37Rixi Moncada was the Libre party's candidate in the last election and has now taken on the
01:42defense of Ceballos, who faced his initial hearing this week amidst a difficult situation caused
01:49by the lack of judicial independence.
01:53We are attending the initial hearing for Melvin Ceballos, who has been charged by the Public Prosecutor's
02:02Office with coercion and making threats for exercising his right to protest and mobilize.
02:13It is disheartening that the Public Prosecutor's Office has taken this action against Melvin Ceballos.
02:25A grassroots political leader and human rights defender for alleged acts of coercion in front
02:32of the National Electoral Council despite not presenting a shred of evidence.
02:36It will be known next Tuesday whether Ceballos will be able to defend himself while at liberty
02:43or be sent to prison pending the start of his trial.
02:47This has been political persecution from the outset, and we know they are using any excuse
02:53to target people from Libre.
02:56It started with laws passed in Congress.
02:58They claimed there was an emergency and used this as a pretext to fire all state employees
03:04with a history of affiliation to the Libre party.
03:07Now we are seeing an increasingly focused campaign of persecution against the party's political leaders.
03:14Melvin Ceballos could become the first member of Libre to be imprisoned, and he is the first
03:19grassroots leader to face legal persecution.
03:22To date, more than 10 former ministers from Xiomara Castro's administration are under investigation,
03:29and the legal persecution of the political opposition in Honduras continues to escalate.
03:35Reporting for Telesur in English from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Gerardo Torres Zelaya.
