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...

Honduras' de facto government sent troops on Monday to shut down two media stations loyal to ousted President Manuel Zelaya, digging in to resist international pressure for his return to power. Zelaya was overthrown in a military coup on June 28, but he secretly returned from exile and sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy last Monday, sparking a tense standoff with the de facto civilian government that has promised to arrest him. Hundreds of soldiers and riot police have surrounded the...

The Organization of American States should press the Honduran de facto government to halt the excessive use of force against protesters and to guarantee other fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch has received credible reports that the use of excessive force by Honduran security forces against demonstrators has caused at least one death, and possibly more. Credible sources also report that more than 150 people have been arbitrarily detained. "The...

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya holed up in Brazil's Embassy in Honduras's capital while soldiers and police dispersed his rock-throwing supporters with tear gas and water cannons. Tegucigalpa was locked down under a curfew Tuesday, while international airports remained closed. Honduras's interim government temporarily cut off power, water and telephone contact with the Brazilian Embassy where Mr. Zelaya took refuge Monday after he slipped secretly into Honduras in an attempt to reclaim the...

The finding by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of widespread abuses in Honduras should compel the international community to take firm action, such as targeted sanctions, to resolve the country's ongoing crisis, Human Rights Watch said today. The commission released a on August 21, 2009, showing a pattern of serious violations under the de facto government, including excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, and attacks on the media, as well as several...

Evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch suggests that Honduran soldiers may have used excessive force against supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, outside the Tegucigalpa airport on July 5, 2009, Human Rights Watch said today. At least one teenage boy was killed, and more than 10 other people are reported to have been injured during the confrontation between soldiers and demonstrators. Reports of a second death remain unconfirmed. Honduran officials have publicly claimed that...

"The UnoAmerica group located in Bogota, warned that Hugo Chavez could provoke a massacre in Honduras to maintain order/change the Constitution the way Zelaya desires. They also stated that the financial support that the Venezuelan Government gives to Zelaya comes with a series of obligations. Among them are: Incorporate himself to the ALBA Align himself with the axis of Havana and Caracas Confront the Untied States Establish relations with Ahmadinejad Modify the Constitution Take...

TEGUCIGALPA -- The military officers who rushed deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya out of the country Sunday committed a crime but will be exonerated for saving the country from mob violence, the army's top lawyer said. In an interview with The Miami Herald and El Salvador's elfaro.net, army attorney Col. Herberth Bayardo Inestroza acknowledged that top military brass made the call to forcibly remove Zelaya -- and they circumvented laws when they did it. It was the first time any...