Witnesses stand by the car of television journalist Antonio ‘Tony’ Quintero in Honduras. Quinteros was attacked in his car by gunmen and was seriously wounded, whilst a friend who accompanied him died in the attack. In the last four years, some 33 journalist have been murdered in Honduras (Photo Credit: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images).
Back in December, Amnesty activists responded to an Urgent Action on the murder of Honduran journalist Juan Carlos Argeña. Not only has there not been any progress in this case, Amnesty has had to issue a new Urgent Action on behalf of Mario Argeñal, Juan Carlos’ brother.
Unidentified men have threatened and intimidated Mario in response to his public statements about the killing of his brother and his calls for justice in the case.
Honduran TV journalist Fidelina Sandoval was attacked on her way to work, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, by an unidentified gunmen on April 8, 2013 (Photo Credit: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images).
At the opening of the latest session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on March 3, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated, “No one should have to risk their life for standing up and speaking out on violations of human rights.”
Remind the Honduran authorities of their obligation to protect Mario Argeñal and others who speak out for justice, as well as their obligation to identify and prosecute those responsible for the murder of human rights defenders such as Juan Carlos Argeña.
Unfortunately, the Argeñal brothers are not the only Hondurans suffering human rights violations. In February, Amnesty International issued a written statement to the 25th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council calling for “urgent measures” to address the “deteriorating human rights situation in Honduras“.
Journalists, journalism students and relatives of slain journalists take part in a demonstration during the celebration of the Day of the Journalist in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Photo Credit: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images).
Out of the dozens of abuses against Honduran human rights defenders Amnesty that has worked on in the last five years, the authorities have only successfully prosecuted one case.
Please do not let the murder of Juan Carlos Argeñal and the intimidation of his brother be yet two more unresolved cases. Failure to punish those responsible will only result in further abuses against Hondurans seeking justice.