Jamaica: Arrests reported in murder of Lenford "Steve" Harvey

On Friday, the Jamaica Gleaner reported that 13 men and women had been arrested and one man killed on Thursday morning during a Jamaican police operation "in relation to a string of robberies and murders," which the police alleged included the killing of Jamaica AIDS Support outreach worker Lenford "Steve" Harvey.

According to reports, on the night of December 30th, 2005, Mr. Harvey was taken at gun-point by robbers when he refused to deny he was gay and found shot to death hours later.

Under increasing international pressure, the Jamaican police department had appointed an independent observer to monitor their investigation of the case, in part due to charges that the police department and the Jamaican government often disregard and even condone homophobic violence.

Residents of the Vietnam area of Grants Pen, St. Andrews, where the operation took place, allege that the police murdered an innocent man during the operation and were "covering up" the killing, according to the Gleaner.

UPDATE: Four charged in murder of Jamaican gay man (March 9, 2005)