Sr. Juan Orlando Hernández
President of the Republic of Honduras
Sr. Oscar Chinchilla Banegas
Attorney General of Honduras
Dear Sirs:
We are very concerned for the safety of Esdra Yaveth Sosa Sierra, the Director of Asociación Arcoiris, an organization that promotes equality and equity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.
On March 18 Esdra Yaveth Sosa Sierra received an anonymous letter containing death threats against her and other members of her organization. On March 19 three unknown men came asking for her at the Asociación Arcoiris office. On March 26, she and her colleague, Donny Reyes Velazquez, visited the women’s rights organization Centro de Estudio de la Mujeres in Tegucigalpa. After the visit, as they walked two blocks looking for a taxi, an unknown man approached Esdra Yaveth Sosa Sierra and asked her what she was doing there and what offices she was visiting. Esdra Sosa immediately walked away and entered a taxi with her colleague Donny Reyes.
These death threats and intimidations are a continuation of other harassments Asociación Arcoiris has experienced (cf our letter of Aug 25, 2012). We believe they are directly linked to their legitimate and peaceful activities in defense of the rights of LGBTI persons. More than 170 LGBTI Hondurans were reported killed between June 2009 and May 2014.
Therefore, we strongly urge thatyou:
- carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the death threats to Esdra Yaveth Sosa Sierra, as well as the other members of Asociación Arcoiris, publish the results and bring those responsible to justice;
- take all necessary measures to guarantee the safety and security of Esdra Yaveth Sosa Sierra and all members of Asociación Arcoiris;
- guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai Christine Stonebraker-Martinez
Co-Coordinators
