WASHINGTON - March 3 - Honduran authorities should ensure that recent killings and other attacks on opponents of the 2009 coup are promptly and thoroughly investigated, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubí.

Human Rights Watch has received credible reports of multiple acts of violence over the past month targeting members of the National Popular Resistance Front (Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular), including killings, rape, torture, kidnapping, and assault. Threats reportedly received by victims and comments allegedly made by the assailants suggest that these abuses may have been politically motivated.

"Without a thorough investigation to identify who committed the crimes, to establish motive, and to hold those responsible to account, these events could generate a chilling effect that would limit the exercise of basic political rights in Honduras, including the rights of freedom of association and freedom of expression," the letter said.