El Heraldo reports: “The director of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights of Honduras (Asoprodehu), Dina Meza, denounced the situation [of the lack of protection for a journalist who was the victim of an attack on his home] and warned about the risk faced by the communicator, whose identity remains confidential.”
A complaint has been filed with the Secretariat of Human Rights (SEDH).
The article explains: “According to the complaint, the journalist was a beneficiary of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators and Justice Operators since June 2026 due to the risk after the attack. Meza explained that the communicator was relocated to a place in the country as part of the protection measures. However after being under the mechanism for three months, he was expelled from the protection program and the place where he was located.”
Commenting on this situation, Meza told Hondudiario.com: “In this mechanism, for example, we believed that we had overcome the fact that the Liberty and Refoundation Party was super discriminatory and acted politically, but no, we continue in the same way, likewise the Commissioner of Human Rights, totally invisible to the commissioner, is only interested in being reelected in December.”
Meza has also written: “This decision [to strip this journalist of protection measures] constitutes a serious precedent for all beneficiaries of the Mechanism. If institutional failures end up punishing the protected with the loss of their measures, the system would be ceasing to fulfill precisely the purpose for which it was created. The life, integrity, security and dignity of a person cannot be subordinated to administrative deficiencies, contractual interests or arbitrary actions.”
50 journalists killed since 1993
According to the Observatory of Killed Journalists there have been 50 recorded killings of journalists in Honduras since 1993.
El Heraldo has explained: “In Honduras, the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights is a technical unit and specialized body of the Secretariat of Human Rights (SEDH) in charge of receiving requests, assessing risks and executing protection measures for human rights defenders, journalists, social communicators and justice operators.”
Accompaniment
Dina Meza is the director of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights in Honduras (ASOPODEHU). Dina and this organization has been accompanied by Peace Brigades International since May 2014.
Volunteer in Honduras!
To find out how to volunteer with PBI-Honduras, join our upcoming webinar on Wednesday October 14 at 1 pm ET.
This webinar will have simultaneous Spanish-English translation.
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