In These New Times

Granma

4th July, 2009

GABRIEL Ciro Noriega, a journalist from San Juan Pueblo, was killed on Friday night after leaving a television program, according to Andrés Pavón Murillo, president of the Human Rights Defense Committee in Honduras.

He added that thugs strafed the Radio Sonaguera broadcasting station in La Ceiba, Solaya municipality, Colón department, with machine guns and that another journalist, whose last name is Montero, received serious bullet wounds. When he was taken to hospital the hired killers followed to try and finish him off, but he was removed elsewhere in time for his protection. His state of health is unknown.

Pavón also detailed the human rights situation in the country since President Manuel Zelaya was deposed on June 28. He said that more than 400 people had been detained, some have been released and others held and charged with sedition and material damage.

Since the coup was executed, five people have been killed including the murdered journalist: a labor leader run over by a military vehicle on Sunday and a person who died of a heart attack brought on by teargas. In addition, two people with heavy bruising were taken to the morgue: one was killed in one place and then left in a barrel, with severe injuries but no gunshot wounds, and the other one – according to witnesses – was dumped by a police patrol in a place known as La Montañita on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, and then brought to the morgue in a similar condition.

He stated that the civilian coup perpetrators are controlling Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, but the rest of the country is under the exclusive control of the military, who have usurped mayors, judges and are taking direct decisions: “they have control of all the rural areas, where they are recruiting young people” for military service, in violation of Honduran legislation.

Translated by Granma International