El Salvador human rights lawyer demands public trial as police haul her before judge

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A lawyer from a salient quality rights organization who has been an outspoken critic of immoderate of President Nayib Bukele’s policies demanded a nationalist proceedings arsenic constabulary brought her earlier a justice successful El Salvador Wednesday. Prosecutors sought to complaint her with amerciable enrichment and jailhouse her for six months pending trial.

Observers accidental the lawsuit against Ruth Eleonora López is retaliation for her enactment portion authorities allege she aided 1 of her erstwhile employers being prosecuted for embezzlement. Authorities arrested López astatine her location connected May 18.

The anticorruption lawyer, who works for the nongovernmental enactment Cristosal, has denied the accusations.

Wednesday’s proceeding was closed to the nationalist arsenic the lawsuit is nether seal.

As she was escorted by constabulary done the tribunal gathering Wednesday, a shackled López with a Bible betwixt her hands, shouted: “They're not going to soundlessness me, I privation a nationalist trial,” according to a little video posted by Cristosal connected X. “The radical person to know.”

Earlier, defence lawyer Pedro Cruz, surrounded by reporters successful the courthouse, said helium disagreed with the determination to seal the case. He said prosecutors had done truthful “because they fearfulness they made an unfounded accusation.”

She had not made her archetypal quality earlier a justice until Monday, much than 2 weeks aft her arrest.

At that hearing, prosecutors announced the amerciable enrichment, antithetic from the archetypal embezzlement, and requested that she beryllium held portion they proceed to investigate.

Cristosal has been an critic of immoderate of Bukele’s policies, including the authorities of exigency giving him peculiar powers that has present been successful spot for much than 3 years.

The measurement restricts the close to gather, to beryllium informed of rights and to person entree to a lawyer. It extends to 15 days the clip that idiosyncratic tin beryllium held without charges. Some 86,000 radical person been arrested nether the authorities of emergency.

López is the caput of Cristosal’s Anti-Corruption Unit, which has produced reports and filed ineligible actions related to authorities corruption.

Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur connected Human Rights Defenders, said via X that she was intimately pursuing López’s hearing. “The authorities indispensable warrant her close to owed process. She indispensable beryllium freed.”

López’s alleged wrongdoing dates to her clip arsenic an advisor to Eugenio Chicas, the erstwhile president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal during the medication of President Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2019).

“Ruth has dedicated her beingness to the defence of quality rights and the combat against corruption,” Cristosal said successful a connection past week. “Hers is not an isolated case: it is portion of a signifier of criminalization against captious voices.”