March 30, 2012
UN Urges Chile to Toughen Laws After Gay Killing
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.
GENEVA (AP) - The U.N. human rights office is urging Chile to pass new laws against hate crimes and discrimination after the killing of a young gay man found beaten with swastikas carved into his body.
Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, says the "particularly abhorrent murder" of 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio, who died Tuesday night, 25 days after he was attacked, demands news laws against discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Colville told reporters in Geneva on Friday that Chilean lawmakers also should enact hate crime legislation allowing violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity to be added as "an aggravating factor" in prosecutions.
Four suspects have been jailed on attempted murder charges.
