A/HRC/35/23/Add.1 C. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons 44. The Special Rapporteur received reports of a high number of attacks and killings against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. In total, 123 homicides were registered between 2010 and 2014.21 45. Of the 216 cases registered by civil society organizations between 2004 and 2015, 103 victims were gay, 78 transgender and 13 lesbian. 22 46. The Section on Violent Deaths of Persons from Vulnerable Groups investigates such deaths. The Public Prosecutor’s Office informed the Special Rapporteur that, of the 232 killings registered from 2008 to March 2017, investigations had led to 48 prosecutions, 19 convictions and 9 acquittals. 47. While the Special Rapporteur welcomes the amendments to the Criminal Code criminalizing hatred on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, he is concerned to learn that investigations into deaths of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons continue to be influenced by discriminatory stereotypes, 23 and that a fraction (20.6 per cent) of murder cases appear to lead to prosecutions. D. Justice operators 48. Justice operators, comprising lawyers and members of the judiciary, are frequently threatened, attacked or killed as a result of their profession. The Observatory on Violence registered 115 homicides between January 2009 and December 2015. Killings are mainly concentrated in the Central District and San Pedro Sula (66 per cent). In 67.8 per cent of cases, killings are attributable to organized crime or hitmen. 24 49. Five prosecutors were killed between 2009 and 2015:25 the Chief of the Directorate for Combating Drug Trafficking; the Chief Prosecutor of the Anti-Money Laundering Unit;26 a leading criminal investigator on car thefts; 27 the Coordinator of the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Life; and the Special Prosecutor for environmental protection.28 The Government reported that one of the murders had been prosecuted, while investigations continued regarding the masterminds of the crimes. Twelve judges were killed in the same period.29 50. Attacks and impunity for these crimes have a chilling effect on members of the judiciary, who will be less likely to investigate and adjudicate politically sensitive cases owing to fear of retaliation, thus reproducing existing impunity patterns, sanctioning future crimes and reducing further public trust in the judicial system. 51. In total, 96 lawyers were killed between 2009 and 2015.30 The Government noted that several criminal cases had been opened, while other reports indicated that, of the 53 homicides registered between 2010 and 2012, more than 95 per cent had gone unpunished. 31 As lawyers play an important role in defending human rights and 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 10 Data from the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Life provided by the Government. See Asociación para una Vida Mejor de Personas Infectas y Afectadas por el VIH-SIDA en Honduras, Informe sobre muertes violentas por crímenes de odio motivados por orientación sexual e identidad de género en Honduras (Tegucigalpa, December 2015), p. 25. Available in Spanish from www.ci-romero.de/fileadmin/media/informierenlaender/honduras/INFORME_2015_CRIMENES_DE_ODIO_APUVIMEH.pdf. See www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2014/146a.asp. Observatory on Violence, Special Bulletin No. 45 (January 2016), pp. 1-2. Available from www.iudpas.org/pdf/Boletines/Especiales/BEP_Ed45.pdf. Ibid, p. 3. See www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/honduras-top-anti-money-laundering-prosecutor-murdered. See www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/15/san-pedro-sula-honduras-most-violent. See www.cejil.org/es/cejil-condena-nuevos-asesinatos-fiscales-honduras. See Observatory on Violence, Special Bulletin No. 45, p. 3. Ibid. See Journalism in the Shadow of Impunity, p. 29.