Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Monday condemned the killing of the indigenous leader and pre Honduran MP Félix Vásquez and called on the authorities to conduct a “prompt, independent and effective” investigation into the crime.
“I strongly condemn his killing Felix Vasquez, recognized human rights defender and call on the authorities not to stay in impunityOacnudh representative Isabel Albaladejo Escribano said in a statement.
He stressed that the crime of Vásquez, who was a candidate for deputy for a current of the Libertad and Refundación party (free, left), reminds him of the unacceptable risk faced by human rights defenders, land and territory in Honduras and the importance of public recognition by the state of its work in favor of democracy. “
With crime of Felix VasquezAccording to Oacnudh, Honduras reports eight assassinations of human rights defenders this year.
Prompt inquiry
Felix Vasquez He was killed on Saturday by gunmen who broke into his home in the village of El Ocotal in Santiago de Puringla, La Paz department, in central Honduras.
Oacnudh urged the authorities to “diligently conduct a prompt, independent and effective investigation” to clarify crime and sanctioning material and intellectual perpetrators.
He also considers it important that the work of a human rights defender carried out by Vásquez be included in the lines of inquiry and called on the State of Honduras to guarantee “the attention, protection and access to justice of relatives and close partners of the organization. “.
Vásquez, a renowned defender of the rights of peasants and indigenous peoples, was secretary general of the La Paz Rural Workers’ Union and a member of the Lenca Indigenous Movement.
In October 2020, the indigenous leader denounced “death threats” against him and other defenders, Oacnudh said.
On December 16, the victim participated in a protest denouncing the criminalization of Víctor Vásquez, another imprisoned indigenous defender, for unspecified reasons.
Vásquez was a pre-candidate for the position of deputy in the Honduran Parliament, for the Somos Más del free party, whose general coordinator is the former deposed president of Honduras Manuel Zelaya.
For now, the police have indicated that there are no people arrested in this case and that the security forces investigating the crime have not established the reason.
Honduras is considered one of the most dangerous countries for environmentalists, according to reports from Amnesty International and the non-governmental organization Global Witness. EFE