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After the Coup RIGHTS Ongoing Violence, Intimidation, and Impunity in Honduras WATCH Honduras HUMAN After the Coup RIGHTS Ongoing Violence, Intimidation, and Impunity in Honduras WATCH After the Coup Ongoing Violence, Intimidation, and Impunity in Honduras Copyright © 2010 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-728-0 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org December 2010 1-56432-728-0 After the Coup Ongoing Violence, Intimidation, and Impunity in Honduras Summary and Recommendations ................................................................................................ 1 Impunity for Post-Coup Abuses ............................................................................................. 1 Ongoing Attacks Against Journalists, Human Rights Defenders, and Political Activists ........... 3 Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 5 Support the Human Rights Unit ....................................................................................... 5 Strengthen Judicial Independence .................................................................................. 5 Establish an International Commission of Inquiry ............................................................ 5 Note on Methodology ............................................................................................................ 8 I. Background ............................................................................................................................ 10 The Coup ............................................................................................................................. 10 Widespread Post-Coup Abuses.............................................................................................11 Killings ......................................................................................................................... 12 Excessive Use of Force .................................................................................................. 13 Arbitrary Detentions ...................................................................................................... 14 Sexual Violence ............................................................................................................ 15 Attacks on the Media .................................................................................................... 15 Abuse of Emergency Powers .......................................................................................... 17 Lack of Legal Protection ................................................................................................ 17 II. Impunity for Post Coup Abuses ............................................................................................. 19 Status of Investigations ....................................................................................................... 19 Killings ......................................................................................................................... 19 Excessive Use of Force, Ill-Treatment, and Arbitrary Detentions ..................................... 21 Attacks on the Media .................................................................................................... 26 Obstructing the Work of Prosecutors ............................................................................. 30 Obstacles to Accountability ................................................................................................. 31 Lack of Sufficient Resources ......................................................................................... 31 Lack of Independent Investigative Police ....................................................................... 32 Obstruction of Investigations by Military and Police Personnel ...................................... 34 Independence of the Judiciary Compromised ................................................................ 37 Inadequate Implementation of a Witness Protection Program ........................................ 43 III. Ongoing Attacks .................................................................................................................. 46 Killings ................................................................................................................................ 47 Threats and Attacks............................................................................................................. 51 Status of Investigations ....................................................................................................... 58 Lack of Adequate Protection ................................................................................................ 59 Chilling Effect ...................................................................................................................... 61 IV. Honduras’s Obligations under International Law ................................................................. 62 Obligation to Deter, Prevent, and Investigate Abuses .......................................................... 62 International Standards on Judicial Independence and Impartiality ..................................... 63 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... 66 Summary and Recommendations The military coup d’etat that ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, 2009—and the attacks on journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists in the coup’s aftermath—represent the most serious setbacks for human rights and the rule of law in Honduras since the height of political violence in the 1980s. After the coup, security forces committed serious human rights violations, killing some protesters, repeatedly using excessive force against demonstrators, and arbitrarily detaining thousands of coup opponents. The de facto government installed after the coup also adopted executive decrees that imposed unreasonable and illegitimate restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Since the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo in January 2010, there have been new acts of violence and intimidation against journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists. This report documents 47 such cases, including 18 killings. While some of these attacks may be the result of common crime, available evidence—including explicit threats— suggest that many were politically motivated. Impunity for violations has been the norm. No one has been held criminally responsible for any of the human rights violations committed under the de facto government in 2009. And available information indicates that there has been little or no progress in investigating the attacks and threats that have occurred this year. This lack of accountability—and the ongoing violence and threats—have had a chilling effect on free speech and political participation in Honduras, particularly among those who opposed the 2009 coup. Until Honduran authorities take concrete steps to reduce impunity and curb the ongoing attacks, it will be difficult for the country to restore trust in its democratic system. Impunity for Post-Coup Abuses The Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General’s Office—responsible for investigating allegations of human rights violations committed by police or military personnel—has filed charges in 20 cases of alleged violations committed under the de facto government. Judges have acquitted the defendants in eight cases and the rest are still pending before the courts, some of them stalled because the accused are at large. 1 human rights watch | December 2010 This lack of progress in prosecuting perpetrators of human rights crimes has not been due to a lack of effort by the Human Rights Unit. Rather, it is primarily the result of the lack of cooperation with, and support for, the unit from other state institutions, particularly during the early stages of the investigations in 2009. The Human Rights Unit has faced several obstacles that undermine its ability to adequately investigate and prosecute these cases, including: Limited resources: Although the volume of human rights cases increased dramatically after the coup, the unit’s staff and budget were not expanded to meet the heavier caseload. Throughout the time period covered by this report, the unit consisted of 15 prosecutors. Each has had to handle approximately 400 cases. The unit possesses only two cars, one in Tegucigalpa and another in San Pedro Sula, which has severely limited prosecutors’ ability to carry out travel necessary for their investigations. According to the unit’s director, these conditions have left the prosecutors “overwhelmed.”
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