- Thread starter
- Staff
- #1
Dadparvar
Staff member
- Nov 11, 2016
- 10,672
- 0
- 6
Amnesty International warned on Wednesday that concerns remain over the criminalization of human rights defender Fidel Zavala in El Salvador, urging authorities to drop the unfounded criminal proceedings and to guarantee protection for individuals documenting abuses under the country’s ongoing state of exception.
The organization stated that the prosecution of Zavala appears to be part of a broader pattern of intimidation against activists and whistleblowers exposing human rights violations within the penitentiary system. In the past, a coalition of 52 international organizations denounced the persecution of Zavala after his arrest in 2024, arguing that the charges against him sent a “dangerous message” to others documenting abuses in detention facilities. The groups warned that the criminal proceedings risk discouraging reporting of violations at a time when transparency regarding prison conditions is already limited.
The concerns arise in the context of El Salvador’s state of emergency, which was implemented in March 2022 as part of the government’s anti-gang strategy. Under the emergency regime, authorities have suspended certain constitutional protections and expanded powers of arrest and detention.
Recent reports have raised additional alarms about the treatment of detainees. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) previously urged El Salvador to guarantee due process, judicial oversight, and humane conditions of detention amid the mass arrests carried out under the emergency measures. Amnesty International also previously called on Salvadoran authorities to ensure that the justice system is not used to silence defenders who report abuses.
Recent documentation titled “You have arrived in Hell” by Human Rights Watch and Cristosal shows the ground reality of abuses against detainees in the country’s prison system, including within the high-security Terrorism Confinement Center. The report described cases of beatings, sexual violence, denial of medical care, and degrading treatment of prisoners, particularly migrants transferred from other countries. Beyond physical abuse, the detainees were also exposed to extremely psychologically distressing conditions, held in prisons without any communication with their families or legal representation, and often without knowing the reason behind their detention. Detainees were denied basic sanitation, subjected to inhumane living conditions, and deprived of the most basic necessities such as water.
The post Prosecution of rights defender in El Salvador raises alarm over abuse under state of emergency appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.
The organization stated that the prosecution of Zavala appears to be part of a broader pattern of intimidation against activists and whistleblowers exposing human rights violations within the penitentiary system. In the past, a coalition of 52 international organizations denounced the persecution of Zavala after his arrest in 2024, arguing that the charges against him sent a “dangerous message” to others documenting abuses in detention facilities. The groups warned that the criminal proceedings risk discouraging reporting of violations at a time when transparency regarding prison conditions is already limited.
The concerns arise in the context of El Salvador’s state of emergency, which was implemented in March 2022 as part of the government’s anti-gang strategy. Under the emergency regime, authorities have suspended certain constitutional protections and expanded powers of arrest and detention.
Recent reports have raised additional alarms about the treatment of detainees. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) previously urged El Salvador to guarantee due process, judicial oversight, and humane conditions of detention amid the mass arrests carried out under the emergency measures. Amnesty International also previously called on Salvadoran authorities to ensure that the justice system is not used to silence defenders who report abuses.
Recent documentation titled “You have arrived in Hell” by Human Rights Watch and Cristosal shows the ground reality of abuses against detainees in the country’s prison system, including within the high-security Terrorism Confinement Center. The report described cases of beatings, sexual violence, denial of medical care, and degrading treatment of prisoners, particularly migrants transferred from other countries. Beyond physical abuse, the detainees were also exposed to extremely psychologically distressing conditions, held in prisons without any communication with their families or legal representation, and often without knowing the reason behind their detention. Detainees were denied basic sanitation, subjected to inhumane living conditions, and deprived of the most basic necessities such as water.
The post Prosecution of rights defender in El Salvador raises alarm over abuse under state of emergency appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.