Washington, D.C., June 23, 2021. Honduran journalist Thirzia Galeas is in the state of Georgia awaiting the date on which a judge in Atlanta will hear her story and decide to grant her political asylum after fleeing from Honduras, where her life is in danger.
In conversation with Fundamedios, Galeas said she was detained for 18 days by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service) in the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. The hearing to determine whether or not she can apply for political asylum was initially scheduled for Monday, June 21, but was postponed for an uncertain date yet. Galeas has already passed the so-called «credible fear» interview to establish if her fear is justified. It will now be up to the judge to determine whether or not she can stay in the U.S. under political asylum.
On May 23, Galeas entered the United States with her tourist visa and requested asylum upon her arrival in the United States. The 34-year-old has worked for the past eleven years at C-Libre, a Honduran human rights organization that supports independent journalists who shine light on corruption and aggressions against communities at risk.
C-Libre has documented sensitive information for the administration of President Juan Orlando Hernández. In 2020, the organization led strategic litigation actions to combat the «Intelligence Law,» issued to monitor journalists and human rights defenders without a warrant.
As reported by C-Libre, in December 2020, a man identified as Lester Obando, who presented himself as a prosecutor from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, threatened to kill Galeas. He told her that «there was a price on her head for having a lot of information about the C-Libre organization.» The harassment of Galeas began almost a decade ago, in December 2011, when Thirzia Galeas, among other women journalists, were assaulted by members of the Presidential Honor Guard while covering protests to condemn the murders of communicators in Honduras.