Orlando Barrantes is a union and community activist sentenced to 12 years in prison on September 16, 2015 by the Constitutional Court in Costa Rica on completely false charges relating to a banana workers’ protest 15 years ago.

At the time, he was the head of CONATRAB (National Council of Workers) which organized a demonstration protesting the use of a pesticide known as DBCP which resulted in a high incidence of cancer and birth defects. The workers demanded pensions and one-time payments for the damage done to their children and families as a result of years of DBCP use by multinational corporations like United Fruit Company and Chiquita Brand headquartered in the U.S.

On the day of the demonstration, a phalanx of police blocked the path of the protesting workers. In retaliation, the workers detained a few policemen for a few hours. After they were released, the authorities slapped kidnapping charges on Angulo, a local elected public official, and Barrantes, a well-known union leader and defender of peasants and the poor on the Atlantic Coast. The most outrageous aspect of these charges is that Barrantes was not even present during the time the police were held and Angulo assisted in negotiations to free them.

Over the next 15 years, there were several judicial proceedings, two of which exonerated both Barrantes and Angulo of any wrongdoing.

Throughout this period, Barrantes has remained an outspoken defender of the oppressed as a leader of the Workers and Peasants Movement. In 2007, he was one of the most prominent Costa Rican opponents of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

The Freedom Socialist Party stands with Barrantes and Angulo whose judicial persecution amounts to the criminalization of union advocacy and social protest--all designed to intimidate anyone who demands decent working conditions, higher wages and jobs that don’t poison workers and their families.

The Committee for International Revolutionary Regroupment (CRIR) is supporting a letter-writing campaign to the court responsible for continuing to make these men’s lives a living hell.

Please add your organization, or name, and contact information to the attached letter directed to the President of the Costa Rican Supreme Court which imposed the 12-year sentence. They are scheduled to begin serving their sentence in March of 2016.

Only an international movement can stop the imprisonment Orlando Barrantes and Iván Angulo. The ability to organize and protest against the recklessness of transnational corporations is a human right!

PROTEST LETTER

Dear Ms. Villanueva,

On Wednesday, September 16th, Orlando Barrantes and Iván Angulo were sentenced to 12 years in prison for kidnapping.

I/Our organization,_____________________ want(s) to express my/our opposition to this sentence that represents the unjust outcome of yet another trial in a long series (the second this year) which carries a prison sentence against these men.

Barrantes was one of the main leaders of a struggle initiated by banana workers affected by a highly toxic pesticide known in Costa Rica by its commercial name as Nemagón. This chemical is used on banana trees and carries terrible consequences for human health such as sterility, birth defects and cancer. Internationally it has been labeled as highly toxic and its use has been banned in many countries, including the United States.

In December of 2000, a march was organized to demand compensation for workers whose health was affected by Nemagón. This protest began peacefully but ended in a confrontation when a large group of police blocked the protesters’ path.

As a consequence, Barrantes, who was not present when the protesters detained some of the police, was unjustly accused of kidnapping.

Prosecution of Barrantes has gone on for over 15 years. It has been used to wear down and intimidate those who engage in social activism and protest, especially on the Atlantic Coast of Costa Rica.

Barrantes’ case is not isolated. There is a growing tendency to criminalize social protestas state policy over the terms of the last several Costa Rican presidents. This is intensifying under the current administration. Examples of this include protesters being persecuted for defending social security benefits on November 8, 2012. Also, there is the case of Paulina Briones, sentenced to five years in prison for organizing against the installation of ports in the coastal city of Moin by APM, a Dutch transnational. These are not the only cases; there are others aimed at criminalizing social activism.

The 15-year political persecution of Orlando Barrantes and Iván Angulo is yet more evidence of the policies used to intimidate the popular protest movement.

In light of the above, we demand freedom for all political prisoners and an end to state repression in Costa Rica.

We demand a stay of all legal proceedings against Orlando Barrantes and Iván Angulo.

Respectfully,

Name (Title, if applicable)

Organization (or Organization for ID purposes only)

City, State Country

Cc: Luis Guillermo Solís
Presidencia de la República
despachopresidente@presidencia.go.cr

Rafael Ángel Ortiz Fábrega
Presidencia de la Asamblea Legislativa
rafael.ortiz@asamblea.go.cr