Kidnapped Honduran LGBTQ Rights Activist Found Dead

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Human Rights Campaign

Kidnapped Honduran LGBTQ Rights Activist Found Dead
By Saurav Jung Thapa
June 7, 2016

The body of Rene Martinez, a 40-year-old LGBTQ rights activist, was found in the city of San Pedro Sula, The Washington Blade reported. Martinez, who was kidnapped last week, had apparently been strangled.

Martinez was the president of a LGBTQ advocacy organization in San Pedro Sula. A member of Honduras’ ruling National Party, Martinez took part in an LGBTQ political empowerment conference organized last year in the capital Tegucigalpa. That conference was also attended by Randy Berry, U.S. Special Envoy for the Rights of LGBTI Persons, and Tamara Adrian, the first openly transgender person to be elected to Venezuela’s National Assembly.

“Crimes like these against our fellow LGBTQ activists in other parts of the world remind us of the horrific hate and violence that are a lived daily reality for many in our community.” HRC Global Director Ty Cobb. “ HRC Global is committed to working in solidarity with global activists to combat hate and violence.”

In a statement issued on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Honduras condemned the “apparent murder” of Martinez in “the strongest terms” and called for a “full and thorough investigation into the circumstances of the death.” The U.S. Government has offered to assist Honduran authorities to bring Martinez's killers to justice.


Read more: http://www.hrc.org/blog/kidnapped-honduran-lgbtq-rights-activist-found-dead?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

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[center]

Rene Martinez [/center]

[laserhaas]

2. Rest in Peace Rene Martinez

They just made your activism...stronger

[Octafish]

3. Heartbreaking.

Human Rights are alien to fascists.

Honduras was s democracy until it elected a government that wanted the rich to share with the poor. Leading the effort to destroy it in 2009 was the Secretary of State of the United States.