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Honduras urged to investigate attacks on journalists
Honduras should conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into a recent wave of killings and threats against journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. Three journalists have been killed in March, and five others have been threatened.
"It's impossible to know the exact motive of these attacks without an adequate investigation," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "But the murders and threats are generating a climate of fear that is likely to have a chilling effect on the Honduran media."
On March 14, while Nahún Palacios was driving his car, two cars came up behind him and shot at him repeatedly. He died instantly at the scene. Palacios, who directed TV Channel 5 of Aguán, covered several politically sensitive issues, including anti-coup demonstrations, drug trafficking, and agrarian conflicts. Two days after the coup of June 28, 2009, which Palacios had criticized, military officials searched his home, seized his work equipment, threatened him, and pointed their guns at his children. On July 24, the Inter American Commission on Human Rights granted Palacios "precautionary measures," ordering Honduras to protect him. Palacios continued to receive threats until he was killed.