Honduras: LGBT activist’s life in danger: Donny Reyes
On 5 July, prominent LGBT activist Donny Reyes was pursued by an armed man on a motorbike. He managed to escape, but his life is in danger. The authorities have not provided him with any protection, even though they have been ordered to do so by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
UA: 243/12 Index: AMR 37/010/2012 Honduras Date: 17 August 2012
URGENT ACTION
LGBT ACTIVIST’S LIFE IN DANGER
On 5 July, prominent LGBT activist Donny Reyes was pursued by an armed man on a
motorbike. He managed to escape, but his life is in danger. The authorities have not
provided him with any protection, even though they have been ordered to do so by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Donny Reyes is the coordinator of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organization Rainbow
Association (Asociación Arcoiris). On the morning of 5 July, when Donny Reyes left home to drive to work, he
noticed a man on a motorbike parked on a street corner near his house. When he drove off, the man followed him.
In fear for his safety, Donny Reyes accelerated and drove round to the back of his house to re-enter the building.
After an hour, with no sign of the man outside, Donny Reyes left his house again and drove towards the Rainbow
Association office. As he approached the office, the same man on the motorbike re-appeared, driving alongside his
car and staring at him, while lifting his t-shirt and putting his hand on a gun he had tucked in his trousers. Donny
Reyes drove on towards a police station, still being followed. When he was close to the police station, the man rode
away. In fear for his safety, Donny Reyes called a colleague, and sought refuge in the offices of another LGBT
organization. Lawyers at the Centre for the Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights (CIPRODEH) called the
police to request that they accompany him to a safe place, but they refused. CIPRODEH instead came to find him,
called the Ministry of Interior’s Human Rights Unit and arranged a meeting with representatives of the Ministry, the
Attorney General’s Office and the police for the next day. The meeting was cancelled half an hour before it was due
to start.
Donny Reyes is a beneficiary of Precautionary Measures granted by the IACHR in 2009 to safeguard his security.
The authorities have not implemented the orders, leaving Donny at serious risk. His request for bodyguards has
been turned down due to a lack of resources.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
Calling for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into all incidents of intimidation and following of
Donny Reyes, with the results made public and those responsible brought to justice;
Urging that the authorities take urgent steps to fully comply with the IACHR orders. The form of protection
provided to Donny Reyes must be agreed with him and reflect his own wishes;
Reminding the authorities that human rights defenders have a right to carry out their activities without any unfair
restrictions or fear of reprisals, as set out in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 28 SEPTEMBER 2012 TO:
Minister of Interior
Sr. Pompeyo Bonilla
Secretaría de Estado en el Despacho de
Seguridad, Plantel Casamata, subida al
Picacho, Tegucigalpa, M.D.C,
Honduras
Fax: +504 2220 1756
Salutation: Dear Minister / Estimado
Sr.Ministro
Minister for Justice and Human Rights
Ana Pineda
Ministra de Justicia y Derechos Humanos
Col. Lomas del Mayab, Ave. República de
Costa Rica,
Entre BAC-BAMER y BANHCAFE
Tegucigalpa MDC, Honduras
Fax: +504 2235 8379
Email: info@sjdh.gob.hn
Salutation: Dear Minister/ Estimada Sra.
Ministra
And copies to:
Asociación Acroiris (NGO)
Barrio Concepción
1a Avenida, 6a Calle
Edificio Castillo
Comayagüela MDC,
Honduras
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
LGBT ACTIVIST’S LIFE IN DANGER
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Donny Reyes received protective Precautionary Measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in
2009, in response to his arrest during protests at the 2009 coup d’etat. In early 2011, Donny Reyes received two threatening
text messages.
Donny Reyes and his legal representatives met with the Honduran authorities on 18 February 2011 to agree on the
implementation of the 2009 IACHR protection measures. The police superintendent present at the meeting committed to
ensuring that police patrol cars would pass by Donny Reyes’ home and workplace every day. Donny Reyes was also given a
direct line of communication to the deputy superintendent and inspector of police in case of emergencies. At the same meeting,
a representative of the Special Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office promised to prioritise the investigation into his 2009 arrest and
other incidents since then.
At the meeting, Donny Reyes also reaffirmed a request directed to the Minister of Justice and Human Rights for two military
bodyguards.
The authorities have utterly failed to respect their commitments to Donny Reyes and their obligations to the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights. Police patrols were only carried out in a sporadic form between February and March 2011 – and
none since then. Donny Reyes has received no news of any advance in the investigation into the January incident of following,
despite assurances that the investigation would be prioritised. He has also been told by the Ministry of the Interior that no
bodyguards can be assigned to him due to a lack of resources.
Donny Reyes’ legal representatives called an emergency meeting in March this year to give follow-up to the implementation of
the protective measures. At the meeting, a police representative once again pledged that regular patrols near his home and
office would be carried out, as well as committing to the delivery of a workshop on IACHR precautionary measures, and on
sexual diversity, for the police officers responsible for implementing the protective measures.
Donny Reyes was also given direct phone numbers to contact the police sub-commissioner in case of emergency. The Special
Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office once again committed to prioritising the investigation into Donny Reyes’s case.
At the moment of writing, police patrols outside Donny Reyes’ home and work place have still not been carried out, despite his
having been followed again last month, and also in January and March this year. The emergency phone number Donny Reyes
was given has gone unanswered. He still has no news on the investigation into his case.
Name: Donny Reyes
Gender m/f: Male
UA: 243/12 Index: AMR 37/010/2012 Issue Date: 17 August 2012