AMR 37/008/2006
Further Information on UA 329/06 (AMR 37/007/2006, 8 December 2006)
Fear for Safety/Death Threats
HONDURAS Carlos Hernandez (m), President of human rights NGO Asociacion para una Sociedad mas Justa (ASJ), Association for a More Just Society
Dina Meza (f), ASJ Project Director and investigative journalist
Robert Marin Garcia (m), ASJ investigative journalist
Claudia Mendoza (f), ASJ investigative journalist
Rosa Morazan (f), ASJ investigative journalist
Killed : Dionisio Diaz Garcia (m), ASJ lawyer and adviser to the journalism team
20 December 2006
ASJ members have been intimidated again, and the government is making very slow progress in providing them with protection. The lives of ASJ members, particularly Carlos Hernandez, remain in grave danger.
At around 9pm on 18 December a man on a motorbike parked up at the back of Carlos Hernandez’s house, and remained there long enough for neighbours to become suspicious before finally driving off. This follows an incident five days earlier, when two men on a motorbike had reportedly been seen in the neighbourhood where Carlos Hernandez lives, asking for his address. A week before this, on 7 December, Carlos Hernandez had been followed by a man on a motorbike, and only managed to evade him after two hours.
On 15 December sources linked to military intelligence told Robert Marin Garcia of an apparent plan by private security firms to assassinate ASJ members, to be carried out this month. The source reportedly warned that ASJ journalists should be careful because les llevan hambre (« you’re making them want to kill you »), and implied that they should leave the country for their own safety.
Dionisio Diaz Garcia, a lawyer working for the ASJ, was shot dead on 4 December by a man riding pillion on a motorbike. Dionisio had been representing a number of former security guards who claimed to have been unfairly dismissed at the time he was killed. Amnesty International is concerned to note that the pattern of intimidation suffered by Carlos Hernandez appears very similar to that experienced by Dionisio Diaz before he was killed. Like Carlos Hernandez, Diaz had reported having been followed and receiving a threatening text message written in English.
Amnesty International is concerned at the lack of urgency in the Honduran government’s response. Although the Ministry of Public Security and the Attorney General’s office are apparently very close to taking action, the ASJ is still waiting for protective measures to be implemented, more than two weeks after Dionisio Diaz Garcia’s murder.
RECOMMENDED ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language :
expressing concern that Carlos Hernandez has suffered further intimidation ;
asking that the authorities take immediate and visible action to provide effective protection for Carlos Hernandez and other ASJ members and their families, in accordance with their own wishes ;
urging the authorities to order a thorough and independent investigation into the murder of Dionisio Diaz Garcia and the threats against other members of the ASJ, and to bring those responsible to justice ;
reminding the authorities that they are obliged to recognize the legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders and their right to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals, as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties.
APPEALS TO :
President of the Honduran Republic
Manuel Zelaya
Presidente de la Republica de Honduras
Casa Presidencial
Boulevard Juan Pablo Segundo
Palacio Jose Cecilio del Valle
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax : +504 235 7700
Salutation : Dear President/Estimado Senor Presidente
Public Security Minister
Alvaro Romero
Minister of Public Security
Ministry of Public Security
Edificio Pujol, 4to. Piso, Col. Plamira (Blvd. Morazan)
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax : +504 220 4352
Salutation : Dear Minister/Estimado Sr. Ministro
Attorney General
Leonidas Rosa Bautista
Fiscal General del Estado
Ministerio Publico
Lomas del Guijarro, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax : +504 221 5667
Salutation : Dear Attorney General/Estimado Sr. Fiscal General
COPIES TO :
Foreign Minister
Milton Jimenez Puerto
Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores
Colonia Miraflores, Boulevard de las Fuerzas Armadas
Contiguo al Palacio de Justicia, Edificio Antigua Casa Presidencial, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax : +504 234 1922
+504 234 1484
Human rights NGO
Asociacion para una Sociedad mas Justa (ASJ)
Apartado Postal 30676, Toncontin
Comayaguela, Honduras
Ambassade de la République du Honduras
Avenue des Gaulois 3
1040 Bruxelles
Fax : 02.735.26.26
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 31 January 2007.
Avant tout : Joyeux Noël !
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