(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 to democratic rule. Deposed President Manuel Zelaya and the de facto government of Honduras are now engaged in negotiations about such a transition, and have announced that an agreement may be imminent.
Since the military ousted President Zelaya on June 28, 2009, the small human rights unit of the Office of the Attorney General has begun investigations into numerous cases of killings, alleged excessive use of force by security officials, and illegal and arbitrary detentions. The unit has also filed motions objecting to a decree limiting freedoms of the press and assembly, which the de facto government has used to bar two media outlets from broadcasting. But the unit has met with resistance from their superiors in the Attorney General’s Office as well as acts of obstruction, including direct threats, from members of the armed forces.
“If anyone questions the damage that the de facto government has done to Honduras’ democratic institutions it’s clearly illustrated by these cases,” said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “And by obstructing the investigations, the public security forces are thumbing their noses at the rule of law.”
Human Rights Watch representatives visited Honduras this month and documented the serious obstacles human rights unit prosecutors have been facing in carrying out their investigations. In several cases the security forces have taken actions that have obstructed investigations.
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http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/16/honduras-stop-blocking-human-rights-inquiries
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