The killing of an HIV/AIDS outreach worker on December 14, 2009, is part of a pattern of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Honduras that seems to have accelerated in the turbulent months since the June 28 coup, Human Rights Watch said today. The organization called on Honduran judicial authorities to open full investigations of all the reported killings, and to provide human rights training for the police and the judiciary about sexual orientation and...

Honduran authorities must launch an urgent and independent investigation into the murder of human rights defender Walter Trochez who was killed late on Sunday night while walking home through the centre of Tegucigalpa, Amnesty International said today. According to sources, Walter Trochez was shot in the chest by a drive-by gunman and taken to hospital where he later died. Amnesty International fears that he may have been targeted because of his human rights work. Walter Trochez told Amnesty...

Walter Trochez, 25 years old, a well-known LGBT activist in Honduras who was an active member of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'etat there, was assassinated on the evening of December 13, shot dead by drive-by killers. Trochez, who had already been arrested and beaten for his sexual orientation after participating in a march against the coup, had been very active recently in documenting and publicizing homophobic killings and crimes committed by the forces behind the coup,...

Washington, DC - The proposal by Porfirio Lobo, winner of Honduras' disputed presidential election on November 29, 2009, for an "amnesty for all" of those involved in the June coup d'état violates the country's international obligations and undermines the rule of law, Human Rights Watch said today. The election was organized by the de facto government, and has been recognized only by the United States and four Latin American countries. The de facto government took over after...

Government harassment and criminal violence are harming press freedom and weakening democracy, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) concludes in a report presented at the closure of its 65th general assembly in Buenos Aires. IAPA expressed dismay over the excessive increase of violence against journalists. Sixteen reporters were killed in the last six months (eight in Mexico, three in Honduras, two each in Guatemala and Colombia and one in El Salvador), "the highest figure in...

The restoration of constitutional order in Honduras should be accompanied by the immediate repeal of repressive decrees issued by the de facto government, and a full investigation of abuses committed in the aftermath of the coup, Human Rights Watch said today. The de facto government of Honduras and the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, announced today that that they had struck a deal on the evening of October 29, 2009, to restore Zelaya to office. The exact terms of the accord are unknown. ...

A nephew of interim President of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, was murdered and found in a wooded area of Choloma, relatives who recognized his remains said today. Roberto Micheletti’s nephew disappeared days ago, and yesterday his body was found next to another young man, near Choloma, according to the National Police spokesman, Orlin Cerrato. He said “the investigation will cover the total aspects necessary”. The body of Enzo Micheletti was recognized by his...

Washington, D.C. - The international community should strongly back the efforts of prosecutors in the human rights unit of the Honduras Attorney General’s office to investigate army and police abuses in Honduras and to overturn a decree by the de facto government that severely restricts freedoms of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today. The organization also called on the international community to oppose any amnesty for human rights violations as part of the transition back...

GENEVA - The U.N. top rights body is condemning abuses following the June 28 coup in Honduras. The 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed Thursday a proposal by Latin American countries, including Cuba, calling for an immediate end to all human rights violations. The Geneva-based council, of which the United States is a member, also called for the restoration of the ousted government of President Manuel Zelaya. Honduras' interim leaders suspended some civil liberties...

Honduras's de facto government should immediately rescind an emergency decree that severely restricts press freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today. Honduran security forces seized the offices of Radio Globo and Cholusat Sur television early today and shut down their broadcasting, two days after the decree was issued. Both broadcasters have been openly supportive of deposed president Manuel Zelaya. The de facto government issued the decree on September 26, 2009, prohibiting all public...