Between 22 and 24 September 2009, human rights defenders from la Asociación Jóvenes en Movimiento - AJEM (The Association of Youth in Movement) have been beaten, harassed, arbitrarily detained, and had possessions damaged and stolen during various instances of police abuse which have followed the recent weeks of unrest in Honduras.

Further Information

AJEM is a youth organisation which works for the promotion of youth human rights and sexual reproductive health, with a focus on gay, lesbian and youth groups in the city centre of Tegucigalpa.

On the morning of 22 September 2009, Mr Alex Eduardo Sorto Ortiz, Executive Director of AJEM, Mr Osmin David Valle Castillo, AJEM Project Coordinator, and Ms Yuris Espinoza, an AJEM member, were stopped in Tegucigalpa by six agents dressed in mottled clothes with balaclavas, who were travelling in a white pick-up truck with tinted windows and a double cabin, the driver of which is described as of a stout build. They stopped the van in which the AJEM members were travelling, and aimed rifles at the three defenders while ordering them onto the pavement. After reportedly finding Rainbow flags inside the van, two agents proceeded to beat and kick the three AJEM members whilst they also verbally assaulted them and two other agents ransacked the van, smashing the windows and mirrors. AJEM items such as a laptop, books, documents and mobile phones were confiscated, along with the registration papers for the vehicle, keys to AJEM headquarters, and the three human rights defenders' official identification papers, which contained personal photographs as well as information about AJEM offices. Furthermore, personal belongings including jewellery, an ipod, watches and sunglasses were stolen.

On the afternoon of 24 September, Alex Eduardo Sorto Ortiz and Osmin David Valle Castillo decided to report these incidents to the offices of Dirección General de Investigación Criminal - DGIC (Criminal Investigation Division; Honduran Police). Advised not to submit their reports together, only Osmin David Valle Castillo was able to give his statement. Alex Eduardo Sorto Ortiz was reportedly told that he would not be able to give his report without all those involved being present, and without receipts for all damaged or stolen items and all official documents relating to the damaged vehicle. Reportedly, the individual dealing with Alex Eduardo Sorto Ortiz and Osmin David Valle Castillo at the DGIC and who declined to take Mr Sorto Ortiz' report refused to provide her full name.

On the evening of 1 October 2009, two unknown individuals, armed but in civilian dress, came to the AJEM's offices looking for certain named individual members. As the office was locked, AJEM members and the two individuals communicated only through a window. With their weapons visible, they asked questions such as whether AJEM's offices were on the premises, whether the sought-after members were present and whether AJEM worked with homosexuals. They insisted on being allowed to enter the building and when entry was refused, grew angry and violent, attacking one of the windows. Neighbours then became alarmed and one neighbour shouted down to street level that he had called the police, at which point the two individuals left. In recent weeks AJEM has implemented increased security measures, such as keeping the office doors closed during working hours and cautioning their volunteers to exercise extra vigilance, visiting AJEM's facilities as little as possible and to work from home or their place of study.

This followed an incident on the evening of 23 September, when four teenage members of AJEM who do not wish to be named approached AJEM offices in Castillo Barahona, Barrio La Plazuela, Tegucigalpa, to check the condition of the premises. They were stopped by a police patrol, who chased the four members after they fled from the scene and eventually detained them in a nearby car park. After allegedly attacking the four individuals, the police took them into custody before later releasing them without explanation. Later that day AJEM received reports that police had been regularly patrolling their offices, a new development which they did not believe had taken place before this period of unrest in Honduras.

Front Line believes that the violence, harassment and intimidation of AJEM and its members is directly related to their work in defence of human rights, in particular youth and LGBT rights, and due to AJEM participation in peaceful protests surrounding the continuing political crisis in Honduras. In addition, it is believed that AJEM may be a particular target for police hostility due to the support that they previously received from the former First Lady, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, the wife of ousted Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity and security of AJEM members.

Front Line urges you to call on the de facto authorities in Honduras to:

1. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the violent attack on human rights defenders Alex Eduardo Sorto Ortiz, Osmin David Valle Castillo and Yuris Espinoza, and the attack on and arbitrary detention of another four members of AJEM, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;

2. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological security and integrity of all AJEM members, and protect office premises;

3. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in Honduras are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and violence, and free of all forms of harassment.