HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION POST-COUP UPDATE 2

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000584

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI DS SNAR HO
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION POST-COUP UPDATE 2

REF: TEGUCIGALPA 529

Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b & d).


1. (C) Summary: The Attorney General's (AG) aggressive
pursuit of corruption charges against Zelaya administration
officials seemingly outweigh his consideration for the
deteriorating human rights situation. While the situation is
not yet dire, civil liberties have been denied, arbitrary
arrests and detentions are reported, and freedom of
expression and freedom of the press have been obstructed.
Civil society groups state that the perceived political
partiality by the AG has forced them to turn to NGOs and the
United States for the defense of human rights. The
Ambassador has strongly emphasized the importance of
guaranteeing human rights publicly and in meetings with the
Public Ministry, including a July 9 meeting with the Special
Prosecutor for Human Rights. Post will continue to push the
AG and the de facto regime on the importance of these issues.
End Summary.

--------------
ATTORNEY GENERAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND ZELAYA
--------------


2. (U) Representatives from the G16 donor group met with
Attorney General Luis Rubi and four of his attorneys to
discuss the human rights situation in Honduras on July 9.
Poloff raised strong U.S. concern over the deterioration of
the protection of human rights in Honduras since the June 28
coup, including restrictions being placed on freedom of
assembly and expression, warrantless arrests and searches,
and the killing of a pro-Zelaya protester. Rubi said all
allegations of human rights violations are being properly
investigated but provided very little information on specific
cases raised by the group. When
briefed that many victims have not made official complaints
because his office is considered partial to the de facto
regime, he noted that victims should take their cases to
Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio. (Note: The AG has
been closely associated publicly with the coup and the
Commissioner has made strong statements defending the de
facto regime against allegations of human rights violations.
End Note)


3. (U) After fielding a number of questions, Rubi moved away
from discussing human rights and began instead to brief the
group on the Public Ministry's corruption investigations of
President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya's administration. He stated
that the only "political" arrest warrants issued by his
office are for Zelaya and Zelaya's minister of the
presidency, Enrique Flores Lanza, who is charged with misuse
of funds. Rubi is also aggressively pursuing four
ex-administrators of government-owned telecommunications firm
Hondutel who have been charged with corruption. Rubi denied
charges that any political considerations had been made in
the choice to pursue corruption charges against Zelaya
administrative figures at this time.


4. (C) Rubi presented preliminary results from his
investigation into corruption charges against President
Zelaya, providing documentation to all present. He reported
the discovery of evidence proving that Zelaya used
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funds to pay for his
scheduled June 28 opinion poll on the Fourth Urn. Rubi said
that the investigation of Zelaya started the moment after the
coup because his offices didn't have access to the evidence
until after Zelaya's dismissal. However, when questioned,
Rubi conceded that all of the 18 charges filed against Zelaya
have been political in nature. The Canadian Ambassador
(currently the G16 President) reiterated the international
concern for human rights in Honduras and stated his
reservations about the political nature of the AG's pursuit
of Zelaya and his administration.

--------------
USG EXPRESSES CONCERN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
--------------


5. (SBU) Ambassador and Poloff met with Human Rights
Prosecutor (HRP) Sandra Ponce on July 9 to discuss the human
rights situation and a number of human rights cases of
interest. The Ambassador expressed the USG's strong concern
over the deteriorating human rights situation and the United
States, determination to ensure the protection of human
rights for all Hondurans in these times of political tension.
The Ambassador emphasized that human rights issues are of
paramount importance to the U.S. government, and that post
would be monitoring both the overall human rights environment
as well as specific cases of concerns, and raising those at
the highest levels of the Public Ministry.


6. (SBU) One case of concern is the killing of Isis Obed
Murillo on July 5 at Toncontin International Airport.
According to HRP, preliminary investigations have identified
over 170 cartridges of different calibers at the scene, of
which 143 are the 5.56 cartridges used by M16 rifles carried
by the Honduran military. She said an autopsy has been
performed on Murillo, and initial results indicate that he
was killed by a bullet from a 5.56 cartridge. Indications
suggest that the trajectory of the bullet was from above
Murillo's position and not behind him from the direction of
other protestors, as has been reported in the Honduran
newspapers. HRP stated that the Public Ministry is waiting
to collect eye-witness accounts of the incident before moving
to charge anyone with the killing. HRP confirmed that the
second gunshot victim from the violence at Toncontin Airport
is a 25-year-old architect named Alex Zavala and not a
13-year-old minor as had been rumored. Zavala is currently
in critical condition at a private hospital, and his family
have chosen not to assist the authorities in their
investigation.


7. (U) HRP related actions taken to reopen pro-Zelaya Channel
36, which had been off the air since the June 28 coup, and
remove military presence from its offices on July 6. Station
owner, Edras Amado Lopez, previously stated he would only
reopen with the support of the United Nations as he was
afraid the de facto regime would place conditions on his
operation. However, after working with the HRP, he has since
been convinced otherwise and Channel 36 has started
transmitting again. HRP updated the Ambassador on the case
of journalist Eduardo Maldonado, who has been off the air
since the coup. Maldonado used his program to promote the
Fourth Urn, and according to the HRP, since the coup the
owner of the station that broadcasted his program has chosen
to reorient its message in greater accord with the current
regime. Thus, the case is between the owner of the station
and the journalist but does, however, demonstrate a trend of
self-censorship. HRP also indicated that her team of 10
attorneys must share one vehicle to investigate allegations,
which severely hampers their effectiveness.

--------------
OUTSPOKEN FATHER OF KILLED PROTESTER ARRESTED
--------------


7. (C) Late July 9, actions taken by the Public Ministry
confirm a trend of politically inclined arrests. After
speaking out against the de facto regime and his son's death,
the father of killed protester Isis Obed Murillo, Jose David
Murillo Sanchez, was arrested and charged with attempted
homicide. According to news reports, the warrant for Murillo
Sanchez's arrest was issued on May 18, 2007, in Juticalpa,
Olancho, for a crime allegedly committed in 2004. Earlier in
the day, in a meeting with the Ambassador, the HRP confirmed
that the warrant had been issued and alluded to the political
nature of the prosecution referring to it as a, "terrible
incident."

--------------
Comment
--------------


8. (C) The Embassy will continue to speak out on the human
rights situation and in defense of democracy. Post will
continue to report on human rights and work with civil
society to document the situation. Poloff will muster any
logistical support for the HRP to increase her ability to
investigate allegations of human rights violations. In the
meeting with the AG, the HRP looked visibly dismayed to all
present as the AG discussed his office's actions taken to
ensure human rights. Her negative "body language" and a
general concern for the AG's political partiality was later
confirmed in a separate conversation where she stated that
Rubi is partial to the de facto regime and has not provided
the resources or demonstrated an interest in pursuing alleged
human rights violations. End Comment.
LLORENS