TFH01: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION SINCE ZELAYA'S RETURN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000958 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM HO SUBJECT: TFH01: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION SINCE ZELAYA'S RETURN REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 955 ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 952 ¶C. TEGUCIGALPA 949 ¶D. TEGUCIGALPA 939 Classified By: Ambassador Hugo LLorens, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. The human rights situation following the return of President Jose Manuel "Mel" Zelaya has deteriorated. Post confirmed the death of one anti-coup protestor on September 22 in Tegucigalpa and is working to confirm another alleged death of an anti-coup protestor in San Pedro Sula. Post has not found any evidence to indicate that torture of protestors by police occurred at Chochi Sosa Stadium in Tegucigalpa on September 22. The main hospital in Tegucigalpa reported approximately 30 injured anti-coup protestors had visited their emergency room since September ¶22. Human Rights groups are working diligently to document injuries that occur during altercations with police. Press freedom continues to be limited and anti-coup press outlets report electricity blackouts and signal interference. Poloff spoke to Special Prosecutor for Human Rights, German Enamorado, and expressed ongoing concern for the human rights situation. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Poloff spoke on September 23 to Dr. Lucy Mader, the head of the Tegucigalpa city morgue, who stated that in the early morning hours of September 23, the morgue received one body from the "Flor de Campo" neighborhood. The National Investigative Police (DNIC) confirmed the death to Poloff on September 23. DNIC stated the police responded to a report that a group of anti-coup protestors were in the neighborhood of "Flor de Campo" and that one anti-coup protestor was shot during an altercation with police. This is the fourth confirmed death by de facto security forces since June 28. (Note: this appears to be the same death reported by Reuters News Service on September 23. End Note.) A local anti-coup news website, "El Liberador," reported on September 23 the alleged death of Elvin Jacobo Euceda in San Pedro Sula by Honduran National Police during curfew hours on September 22. The article referenced police patrol id number "RPM10-6." Post is attempting to confirm the second alleged death with authorities. ¶3. (C) Embassy has found no evidence to support rumors of the torture of detained anti-coup prisoners at Chochi Sosa Stadium since September 22. Human Rights groups told Poloff on September 23 that they had not received any concrete evidence to support this allegation. Emboffs visited Chochi Sosa stadium on September 23 (ref A). Local stadium staff members told Poloff that all detainees had been removed from the stadium before dark on September 22. Police contacts told Emboffs late on September 22 that all detainees at Chochi Sosa Stadium had been released after being held temporarily on curfew violations. There are no other reported injuries of those anti-coup protestors detained at the stadium other than the three reported by the Honduran Red Cross (ref A). ¶4. (C) Following the breakup of supporters in front of the Embassy of Brazil by de facto security forces on September 22, a number of injuries were reported in the press and by human rights groups (reftel C). Poloff visited the main hospital in Tegucigalpa, School Hospital, on September 23. The head of public affairs of the hospital, Jose Virgilio Meza Estrada, told Poloff he estimated approximately 30 injured pro-Zelaya protestors had sought treatment at the School Hospital since September 22. Estrada estimated that 23 injured were brought to the hospital on September 22 and approximately 7 on September 23 after altercations with security forces. During a visit to the emergency room at the School Hospital on September 23, various doctors reported to Poloff that, for example, they observed 1 injured protestor would come with as many as 19 other supporters that were not injured and that perhaps this gave observers the impression there many more injured. One of the injured on September 22, Jario Sanchez, is the head of the Honduran Institute of Professional Formation (INHFOP). In a separate conversation, Congressman Marvin Ponce confirmed to Poloff on September 23 that Sanchez was not in grave danger and was receiving medical attention at the Honduran Medical Center. ¶5. (C) The head of public affairs for School Hospital, Jose Virgilio Meza Estrada, told Poloff that he met patients in the emergency room who lied about how they were injured out of fear of retaliation by the Public Ministry, but later admitted to him that their injuries were the result of police force. Meza told Poloff he observed attorneys from the Public Ministry in the emergency room of School Hospital allegedly taking names of the injured protestors in order to TEGUCIGALP 00000958 002 OF 002 later prosecute them for vandalism. Upon departing hospital, Poloff encountered a group of 5 prosecutors from the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights. One of the prosecutors, Suyapa Vasquez, told Poloff they were present to investigate allegations regarding the injuries of those in the hospital. Additionally, Poloff met 15 human rights volunteers from the Center for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (CIPRODEH) that were at the hospital to document the alleged injuries caused by security forces. They expressed difficulty in convincing victims to give testimony out of fear that they would be charged for participating in political demonstrations. ¶6. (C) The owner of Channel 36, an anti-coup media outlet, Esdras Lopez, told Poloff on September 23 that the television station continues to be the victim of electricity blackouts and unexplained signal interferences (ref B). Pro-coup media outlets appear to be operating normally. On September 23, Poloff spoke to Special Prosecutor for Human Rights German Enamorado and expressed ongoing concern for allegations of human rights abuses since September 21 and also appreciation for the cooperation of the Attorney General's office in allowing Embassy of Brazil staff members to leave the Embassy compound (ref A). ¶7. (C) On September 23, former head of the Honduran Internal Revenue Service (DEI) Armando Saramiento, told Poloff that Supreme Court magistrate David Calix Vallecillo reportedly was not invited to a September 22 meeting between all Supreme Court magistrates and the Attorney General. Calix told Saramiento that he believed he was excluded from such an important meeting in direct retaliation for his disagreement with his fellow magistrates regarding the court's handling of the coup (ref D). ¶8. (C) Comment: The death, along with the detention of over 150 people on September 23 in a Tegucigalpa stadium, continues to show a commitment by the de facto regime to control Zelaya supporters, even at the expense of human rights. LLORENS