Thursday 17 November 2011

In Honduras, special police units investigate gay killings

By Paul Canning

Police authorities in two regions of Honduras have established units to only investigate homophobic crimes.

Every month, outside the Ministerio Público (Public Ministry) in downtown Tegucigalpa, Honduras, LGBT have been protesting 85 unsolved murders of gay people in that small country. The protests are happening on the 13th of each month "because Walter Tróchez was killed on December 13, 2009," said leader Donis Reyes.

Trochez was a political activist and LGBT rights leader who was killed after threats and previous attacks. His death lead to worldwide protests including by Amnesty International.

la Dirección Nacional de Investigación Criminal (National Criminal Investigation, DNIC) have established new Sexual Diversity Units in the North-West and the capital.

Oscar Aguilar, spokesman for the DNIC, said the new units have sufficient staff and adequate training for the investigation of death of gay people.

The units have the support of the Embassy of the United States. The State Department's 2010 annual Human Rights Report singled out Uganda and Honduras as countries in which LGBT people continue to suffer oppression, violence and even death.

So far this year, nationwide, Honduras has recorded about eight violent deaths of gay people.


LGBT Honduran groups say that there have been 54 murders since January 2010. In all cases, the police has not arrested and prosecuted the perpetrators.
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