Walter Orlando Tróchez (1982-13 December 2009) was a
Honduran political activist and
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
rights leader who was murdered in
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
.
Another visible LGBT Honduran activist and Zelayista,
Erick Martínez Ávila, was murdered on 7 May 2012 in the outskirts of Tegucigalpa.
Impunity
A Honduran rights group said Walter Tróchez was briefly kidnapped 4 December 2009 by four masked men who beat him before he managed to escape. He filed a complaint to national and international authorities.
The assailants threatened to kill Tróchez because of his participation in the anti-coup movement, the International Observatory on the Human Rights Situation said.
He was also a
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Not ...
activist.
Death
On 13 December 2009, Walter Tróchez was shot as he walked in downtown
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
. Friends rushed him to a hospital, where he died.
Reactions
In a statement, the
National Resistance Front said, "Tróchez was an active militant in the resistance and an example of the fight against the dictatorship."
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
reacted to the news of Walter Tróchez's death by demanding urgent and independent inquiry into the matter.
On January 26 and 27 2010, several vigils and demos were organised in Berlin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, in solidarity with Gay Hondurans and for democracy.
See also
*
2009 Honduran coup d'état
The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, which took place during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred after President of Honduras, President Manuel Zelaya failed to follow a Supreme Court of Honduras, Honduran Supreme Court ruling. On 28 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trochez, Walter
1982 births
2009 deaths
Human rights abuses in Honduras
Honduran LGBTQ rights activists
Honduran gay men
People murdered in Honduras
21st-century crimes in Honduras
20th-century Honduran LGBTQ people
21st-century Honduran LGBTQ people