International Alert for Donny Reyes, Honduran LGBTQI+ defender seeking the right to same-sex marriage
On August 24, the Centre for Research and Promotion of Human Rights (CIPRODEH) tweeted this Alert: “CIPRODEH raises an international alert for the latest events that occurred to Donny Reyes, Executive Director of our organization, we demand the Honduran State to protect the life and dignity of our Director.”
Reyes is also the director of Asociación Arcoiris (Rainbow Association), an LGBTQI+ organization established in 2003.
PBI-Honduras has accompanied Arcoiris since July 2015.
Pasos de Animal Grande reports:
“Donny Reyes, defender of the LGTBI community, councillor of the National Protection Council, Director of CIPRODEH and member of the Rainbow Association, suffered a series of incidents which could have a direct relationship with the defense of his rights and which occurred within the framework of the filing of an Amparo Appeal against the State of Honduras for denying him his right to marriage.
In view of these facts, he asked the National Protection Mechanism to provide him with the necessary measures to protect him.
Reyes and his organization Arcoiris have been suffering a series of attacks for more than two years, which are intensifying as LGTBI community organizations demand the right to marriage and the approval of the Comprehensive Law for the rights of the community.
Secretly filmed by security guard, August 19
He related that last Thursday, August 19, when he was leaving the SOMOS-CDC organization, a security guard was secretly filming him to what he demanded and he hid his mobile device. The organization from which he left has been the object of homophobia actions by private security agents who guard this place and by the board of trustees of the Payaquí colony, in Tegucigalpa, for being an LGTBI organization, as they have denounced it.
Assault and theft of personal documents, August 21
While on Saturday, August 21, Donny Reyes reported being the object of an assault where unknown persons had taken his personal documents, those of his partner and other work items.
He related that that same Friday he filed an Amparo Appeal against the State of Honduras for denying him the right to marriage before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Faced with this series of events that would carry a message to demand rights as he has hinted, he reported all the facts to the Police Directorate of Investigations, DPI, so that a thorough investigation of all the facts is carried out, which he points out have a direct relationship to the demand for rights as a person of the LGTBI community in Honduras.”
The Pasos de Animal Grande article can be read at Donny Reyes, defensor de la comunidad LGTBI, sufrió diferentes hechos de violencia.
Front Line Defenders has previously noted: “Reyes has suffered attacks, intimidation, threats, and beatings by the police. He was forced to leave Honduras and go into hiding a number of times. Between July 2015 and January 2016, his association has reported 36 security incidents and six of its members have been killed.”
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