Vicky Hernández (Photo courtesy of Cattrachas)
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras | In an unprecedented decision in the history of Honduras, the Honduran state was found guilty today of the extrajudicial execution of transgender activist Vicky Hernández, which occurred on the night of June 28-29, 2009. The crime occurred during a curfew after the coup that overthrew former President Manuel Zelaya to install Roberto Micheletti’s de facto government.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ ruling against the Honduran state is a milestone in the history of justice in the country and for LGBTIQ+ populations in Latin America.
This ruling, unprecedented in Honduran history, came after 12 years of struggle by Hernández’s family and a team of professionals led by Red Lésbica Cattrachas, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and other Honduran organizations.
The ruling against the Honduran state, and in favor of Vicky’s family, is an extraordinary event that will result in more protection for all trans, lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Honduras. It is also a precedent for any LGBTIQ+ person violated in Latin America due to discrimination.
Twelve years of fighting for Vicky
The court’s decision against the state of Honduras is the culmination of 12 years of work by a team of lawyers and Hernández’s family. The trans activist was 26-years-old when she was murdered by state security forces, according to her lawyers’ arguments.
The defense work culminated in two virtual hearings before the court in November 2020 in which experts and witnesses from Honduras and the rest of the Americas participated.
Hernández’s lawyers throughout the hearings argued that the Honduran state security forces were responsible for her death, since they were the only ones who could move freely through the streets of San Pedro Sula during the post-coup curfew.
The defense also argued that the State did not perform an autopsy on the corpse or hid it with the excuse that Hernández suffered from HIV/AIDS.
For Cattrachas Coordinator Indyra Mendoza, the important thing is to get “the court to rule on the extrajudicial execution and to investigate the chain of command. Why? Because this makes us equal in the Honduran collective imaginary.”
Justice for all
With today’s guilty verdict against the state of Honduras, justice has been achieved not only for Vicky’s death, because 14 trans women, 16 gay men and many more people were murdered during the coup, according to Mendoza.
This unprecedented sentence means more than justice in Vicky’s case.
“This is the opening for them to see that no struggle is exclusive to one group of people,” Mendoza adds. “If the amnesty given in the coup d’état is eliminated, it would be a great LGTBI contribution to this country where the human rights of journalists, lawyers, defenders of indigenous territories, Garifunas and villagers are violated.” It is a huge win for Vicky’s mother, Rosa Hernández, who has been demanding “justice for all” for 11 years.
“They have to respect the rights of them for being trans and of them for being lesbians, because they are human. Why discriminate against them? There can’t be discrimination,” adds Rosa, who is 66-years-old.
This brave woman has been at the forefront of the struggle to vindicate the memory of trans women from San Pedro Sula, in northern Honduras, for the past 11 years. With this ruling, her dream of justice is fulfilled.
