Walter Trochez, the LGBT activist in Honduras who pushed back against the military coup’s torment of queers and all citizens there, was reportedly murdered during a drive-by assassination while walking home in Tegucigalpa. He was 25. Relays Direland:
Trochez, who had already been arrested and beaten for his sexual orientation after participating in a march against the coup, had been very active recently in documenting and publicizing homophobic killings and crimes committed by the forces behind the coup, which is believed to have been the motive for his murder. He had been trailed for weeks before his murder by thugs believed to be members of the state security forces.
There are demands — though doubtful to come to fruition — from Amnesty International for a full investigation into his death.
Walter Trochez told Amnesty International on Friday that he had escaped a kidnapping attempt on 4 December after suffering several hours of beatings and threats by masked men. They had interrogated Walter Trochez about individuals opposed to the de facto authorities who seized power following the 28 June coup d’état.
“The murder of Walter Trochez must be investigated immediately and those responsible brought to justice.” said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. “It is essential that human rights defenders and opposition activists are able to exercise freedom of expression without fearing threats or attacks.”
Emily
I’m so glad you are helping to get the word out about Walter’s assassination. He was a colleague and friend of mine and his death is a shocking reminder of the price of advocating for equity. Unfortunately Walter’s killing is only a symptom of the downward spiral in Honduras, and activists for all varieties of human rights are being killed and disappeared there with increasing frequency. Only by making these kind of tragic deaths known can we hope to put a stop to these abuses.
One small correction, in spite of what’s being published, he was actually 27–still far too young to die.
Jaroslaw
This is truly sad, but I hope it motivates people to do SOMETHING, anything on behalf of Gay Rights everywhere. Make a telephone call, write a letter, donate some money, volunteer at the Gay community center. Don’t let this death be for nothing.
vitamine
So sad… As they say: mourn his death, celebrate his life. I agree, Jaroslaw. Let’s not let his death be in vain, his life should inspire us to more action.
FakeName
Within 24 hours of the death of a gay-for-pay porn star there were over 30 comments, including several that accused the police of murder.
Here we have an actual assassination of an actual gay activist and it garners three responses.
Nice priorities, Queerty readers. Outrage for the porn star, silence for the hero.
Hyhybt
Where did you get the idea that the number of comments was a good indicator of “priorities?” There’s just not much to say on this one yet, and, for this audience at least, it’s completely noncontroversial, so nothing to argue about either.
FakeName
I just find it fascinating that the voices calling for life in prison for the sheriff’s deputies in Florida for “murder” are silent here. The first comment out of the box called the police executioners and the second called for them to be imprisoned for life for the “murder of a gay man”. Yet none of those who worked themselves up into a froth over the death of a porn star seem to be bothered enough by the assassination of a gay activist to vent with equal vigor, or at all. I do think it says something about the priorities of some members of the community when they go ballistic over the former and don’t even appear to notice the latter.
Daniel
Make a donation to the Alianza Centroamericana (Alianza CA) which is the regional LGBT group covering Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica. You can reach them through the IDSDH – Iniciativa Desde la Diversidad Sexual por los Derechos Humanos (Sexual Diversity Initiative for Human Rights) – the national group in Nicaragua (http://idsdh.org).
Jaroslaw
HYHYBT: I agree with Fakename here. (although I do understand what you mean about this being n/c for people who read here) however, People could be commenting on how sad this is, or what they are going to do or even ASKING what can be done. (see post#7) I don’t know how you verify if that is legit, but surely we could donate someplace. PS- Queerty used to show how many people viewed items -THAT would be a great indicator. Wonder why they stopped?