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"Международная амнистия" вопросов плана по правам человека в Гондурасе

aron — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:49:02 +0000

Amnesty International on Thursday issued a series of recommendations to newly elected Honduran President Porfirio Lobo to repair the damage done to human rights since the June 2009 coup d'état, which left hundreds seeking justice.

The 13 recommendations include issues relating to investigations into the human rights abuses committed by security forces, rejecting amnesty laws for those responsible for the crimes, training judges on international human rights legislation and setting up an effective witness protection programme.

"Honduras' devastating coup d'état has left the country in urgent need of a programme of human rights reconstruction with clear objectives and a timeline for completion," said Kerrie Howard, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Americas programme.

"If President Lobo wants to restore the rule of law and confidence in his government, he must ensure the abuses of the past seven months are dealt with quickly and effectively."

Amnesty International's report also summarizes 20 cases which include police killings, arbitrary detentions, beatings and ill-treatment in detention, sexual abuse of women and girls, harassment of journalists, judges and activists.

No-one has been held to account for these abuses and few investigations have been opened.

On 1 August, 38-year-old teacher Roger Abraham Vallejo died in hospital as a result of injuries sustained from a bullet wound to the head, caused by a rubber bullet reportedly fired by police during the break up of a protest in Tegucigalpa in July. An investigation into the killing is open but no advances have been reported.

On 23 September, 16-year-old Gerson Ariel Cruz was seriously wounded by police following the break up of a protest in Tegucigalpa. According to an eyewitness, the police chased protesters into a residential neighbourhood where they opened fire with live ammunition. Gerson, who had taken no part in the protest, was shot in the stomach.

When family members tried to take him to hospital they were turned back from a police roadblock, substantially delaying their journey to seek emergency treatment. Gerson survived but sustained serious injuries from which he has still not fully recovered. The shooting was reported to the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights and an investigation is on-going.

"There are dozens of cases of killings, beatings, sexual harassment and other abuses by the security forces against members of the opposition movement and those seen as critical of the coup d'état which need to be urgently investigated," said Kerrie Howard. "Hondurans will expect President Lobo to provide answers and a resolution to the hundreds of human rights abuses committed by the security forces since 28 June 2009."

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo took office on 27 January. He was elected in November last year amidst a political crisis that saw President Manuel Zelaya ousted by military-backed right wing politicians in June.

Honduras: Recommendations to the new Honduran government following the coup of June 2009 (Document, 28 January 2010)

Новый президент Гондураса должен заказать расследование нарушений прав человека

aron — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:03:11 +0000

Amnesty International on Tuesday urged the new Honduran President to order a full investigation into abuses committed by the security forces following June's coup d'état, bring those responsible to justice and provide reparations to the victims.

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, who is set to take office on Wednesday, was elected in November last year amidst a political crisis that saw President Manuel Zelaya ousted by military-backed right wing politicians in June.

Hundreds of people opposed to the coup d'état were beaten and detained by the security forces as protests erupted during the following months. More than 10 were killed during the unrest, according to reports.

"President Lobo must ensure a fresh start on human rights in Honduras by ensuring abuses committed since the coup d'état are not forgotten and do not go unpunished," said Kerrie Howard, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Americas programme.

The organization also called on Honduran security forces to co-operate with any investigations into alleged abuses.

Since the presidential elections, the Honduran Congress has discussed the possible introduction of an amnesty law that would reduce or deny punishment for those responsible for human rights violations.

"Proposals to introduce amnesty measures for human rights violations are simply unacceptable," said Kerrie Howard. "Failure to sanction abuses that took place during the coup d'état could give a green light to further violations in Honduras."

According to dozens of testimonies collected by Amnesty International's researchers in Honduras during two visits to the country, human rights abuses spiralled following the June coup d'état.

Following the coup d'état people who took to the streets to demonstrate their opposition were targets of widespread excessive use of force by the security forces, including unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment, as well as hundreds of arbitrary arrests. The police and military also widely misused tear gas and other crowd control equipment.

Human rights activists, opposition leaders and judges suffered threats and intimidation, media outlets closed and journalists were censored. There were also reports of security force personnel committing acts of sexual violence against women and girls.

Noone has been held to account for these abuses and few investigations have been opened as yet.

On 27 November 2009, 32-year-old Angel Salgado was driving home in the capital Tegucigalpa with three friends when, according to eye witnesses military, officials fired shots at their car as it drove by an unmarked check point.

Angel Salgado was hit in the head by a bullet. He lost control of the vehicle, which then crashed and injured several bystanders.

According to eye witnesses, military personnel began cleaning the scene of evidence immediately after the incident took place. After passing five days in a coma, Angel Salgado died in hospital on 2 December.

On 14 August 2009, a police officer sprayed lawyer Nicolás Ramiro Aguilar Fajardo directly in the face with an unknown chemical spray, temporarily blinding him. At the time, Nicolás was trying to stop the police officer from beating a colleague.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Rosales was forced from power on 28 June 2009 and expelled from the country by a military backed group of right-wing politicians led by Roberto Micheletti, former president of the national Congress.

A de facto government headed by Roberto Micheletti remained in power until the end of the year. President Zelaya returned clandestinely to the country and took up residency in the Brazilian Embassy in September.

Despite the failure of political negotiations mediated by the Organization of American States to restore the elected government, in November the de facto authorities proceeded with elections, Porfirio Lobo of the National Party won 88 per cent of the vote and takes office on 27 January 2010.

Гондурас должны провести полное расследование смерти человека пакистанская правозащитница

aron — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:33:07 +0000

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AMR/honduras-trochez-100.jpg alt= title= /br/Honduran authorities must launch an urgent and independent investigation into the murder of human rights activist Walter Trochez who was killed late on Sunday night while walking home through the centre of Tegucigalpa, Amnesty International said on Monday. br / br / 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 said it fears that he may have been targeted because of his human rights work. br / br / Walter Trochez told Amnesty International on Friday that he had escaped a kidnapping attempt on 4 December after suffering several hours of beatings and threats by masked men. They had interrogated Walter Trochez about individuals opposed to the de facto authorities who seized power following the 28 June coup d'eacute;tat. br / br / quot;The murder of Walter Trochez must be investigated immediately and those responsible brought to justice.quot; said Kerrie Howard, Americas Programme Deputy Director at Amnesty International. quot;It is essential that human rights defenders and opposition activists are able to exercise freedom of expression without fearing threats or attacks.quot; br / br / Since June, Walter Trochez had been documenting human rights violations during protests against the coup d'eacute;tat. He was already known for his human rights work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Honduras. br / br / During his kidnapping on 4 December, four armed men had forced Walter Trochez into their van before repeatedly beating him in the face with a pistol butt and threatening that quot;even if you give us the information we're going to kill you, we have orders to kill youquot;. br / br / After finally managing to open the van door, Walter fell out on the street and ran into a deserted wasteland where he hid until his captors drove off. br / br / quot;Amnesty International's fears that Walter's killing may be a sign of worse abuses to come in the athmosphere of political instability and fear that has prevailed since the copu drsquo;eacute;tat in June,quot; said Kerrie Howard. quot;Walter's killers must be brought to justice, and the de facto authorities must ensure all reports of reprisals against protestors and campaigners are fully investigated and subject to the full weight of the law.quot;