Freedom of Expression
Honduras
Threats and aggression
132. On October 24, 2002, a number of journalists were attacked and some suffered injuries while covering a protest in Tegucigalpa. The protesters, members of the organizations Bloque Popular, the Colegio de Profesores de Educación Media de Honduras (COPEMH) and the Sindicato de Trabajadores del Servicio Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (SANAA), apparently destroyed part of a barrier that the police had constructed around the Congress. The police used various means to subdue the crowd, including gas grenades, a water tank, anti-riot shields, and warning gunshots. The crowd counterattacked with sticks and rocks. As a result, Channel 11 cameraman Edwin Murillo was hit by police officers on his arms and his left shoulder. In addition, they destroyed his equipment, which was valued at more than $18,000. Mario Fajardo, a photographer with La Tribuna, was injured in the mouth by a rock. The cameraman from TN5, Carlos Lagos, was also injured by a rock that hit him in the leg. Among the other journalists, cameramen, and photographers that were attacked were: Estalin Irías (El Heraldo); Segio Flores (Canal 63); Miguel Osorio (TN5); Aldo Enrique Romero (TVC); Jorge Méndez Carpio (Canal 36); Onan Figueroa (66); Jessenia Bonilla (Canal 11); Carlos Paz (Radio Reloj); Jimy Alvarado (Canal 63); Jairo Amador (Canal 13); and Jorge Valle (HONDURED).[i]
Judicial actions
133. In May 2002, the Office of the Special Rapporteur was notified of a pending legal action against journalist Sandra Maribel Sánchez of Radio América. Ms. Sánchez broadcast a tape that contained conversations between Vera Sofía Rubí, a former comptroller and minister of Interior and Justice, and a former president of the Supreme Court of Justice. During the conversation, Ms. Rubí promised, at the judge's request, to put pressure on her brother, a magistrate, to help resolve a case in a certain way. Ms. Rubí, in turn, asked the judge to give priority to cases of a political nature. In the course of the conversation, the two also mocked the Attorney General of the Nation. After the tape was aired, Ms. Rubí filed a judicial complaint against Ms. Sánchez for espionage.[ii]
134. Beginning in March 2002, six journalists from La Jornada were summoned for questioning by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) in relation to two cases being investigated by the PGR. The journalists had reported on aspects of these cases in La Jornada and were being asked by the PGR to reveal their sources. One of the journalists, Gustavo Castillo, was told that he could not invoke his right to maintain the confidentiality of his sources because he had been summoned as a witness. Mr. Castillo was also denied access to legal advice from an attorney during the interrogation.[iii] It is important to recall that the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression establishes in Principle 8 that "Every social communicator has the right to keep his/her source of information, notes, personal and professional archives confidential."