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<b><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2">*Please share
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<br>
July 2, 2010<br>
<br>
The Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared of Honduras
(COFADEH) denounce the illegal overnight detention by police of nine
minors associated with the resistance movement</b><br>
<br>
<i>Nine males between the ages of 12 and 17 were detained yesterday
afternoon and held in jail overnight in a facility unsuitable for
minors, without the notification of their parents/guardians or the
Honduran Institute for Children and Families (INHFA). They were not
charged with any criminal offense and were released at approximately
12:00 noon today after a visit by a COFADEH lawyer who petitioned for
their release for several hours. These youth are reported to have
participated in at least one march of the resistance movement, as part
of a group of young people organizing educational activities
encouraging reflection upon the political and social realities
currently being experienced in Honduras. <b>COFADEH is manifesting
grave concern to the national and international human rights community
in the face of the continued criminalization and repression of young
people and members of the Resistance in Honduras by state forces, such
as the police, since the coup d’etat on June 28, 2009, repression which
has continued in a targeted, violent manner under the government of
President Porfirio Lobo in 2010. </b></i><i>Their testimony is below.</i><br>
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<b>TESTIMONY</b><br>
<br>
We, the undersigned [names are committed to protect the victims’
identities as minors], who are minors, Honduran, and residents of the
Sanai neighborhood of Comayagüela, freely and of our own volition
appear before the Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared
in Honduras (COFADEH) and offer the following testimony.<br>
<br>
<b>FIRST</b>: Yesterday the 1st of July between 3:30 and 4:00 PM we
were in the Sinaí neighborhood in the house of our friend Jankel
Alejandro, where we were having a meeting and celebration related to
our school, where various Preventative Police officers arrived in
patrol vehicles marked No. 103 and 109 and forced the lock of the house
and entered without presenting any kind of warrant. They proceeded to
search us even though we weren’t carrying anything that illegal, they
handcuffed our wrists with our shoelaces and loaded us onto their
patrol trucks, taking us in the direction of the 5th precinct which is
located in the Granja neighborhood.<br>
<br>
<b>SECOND</b>: When we arrived at the above mentioned precinct they
ordered us to get down from the trucks, as they watched us get down
they proceeded to hit us one by one. We were in that precinct for about
10 minutes then they moved us to the 4th precinct which is in the Belén
neighborhood, they took us to the jail cell there where we were
detained for approximately eight hours.<br>
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<b>THIRD</b>: We hereby authorize COFADEH to carry out any follow-up
actions that they consider to be necessary. <br>
<br>
For the record, we sign this testimony in the city of Tegucigalpa,
Municipality of the Central District, on the 2nd day of July, 2010.
[Signatures on the original document]<br>
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<br>
<font size="4"><b style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Comité
de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras<br>
C O F A D E H<br>
Barrio La Plazuela, Ave. Cervantes, Casa No. 1301. Apdo. Postal No.
1243, Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., Honduras, C.A.<br>
Tel/Fax </b><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">(504)
220-5280</span><b style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> / </b><span
style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">220-7147</span><b
style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> E-Mail: </b><span
style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:cofadeh@sdnhon.org.hn"
target="_blank">cofadeh@sdnhon.org.hn</a></span><b
style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> Sitio Web: </b><span
style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.cofadeh.org" target="_blank">www.cofadeh.org</a>
</span></font><br>
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