SAN SALVADOR (El Salvador) — A report by Cristosal, a human rights organization, says that at least 153 people have died while in prison since El Salvador implemented emergency powers to combat the powerful street gangs in the country in March 2022.
No one who died was convicted of the crime for which they were arrested. Four women were among the victims, and the others were men.
According to the report, these deaths were caused by torture and severe and repeated injuries. Nearly half the victims died violently. Some deaths were clearly the result of deliberate denials of medical aid, food and medicine, as well as malnutrition.
The deaths exposed punitive policies implemented by prison guards and officials. According to the report, such actions would require authorization and backing from top security officials.
The government hasn’t provided an official number of deaths among those incarcerated.
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved special powers in March 2022 in response to an increase in gang violence. These powers suspend certain fundamental rights such as the right to be informed of one’s rights and reason for arrest, or the right to have access a lawyer.
Cristosal stated that it collected the information by conducting fieldwork, including collecting documents from medical examiners. Investigators interviewed the families of victims and their neighbors as well as those who had been jailed but later released.
The organization demanded that the government of President Nayib Bukele answer questions about the conditions in which people are being held, to respect due process, to free innocents, to give answers for those who died, to provide all the information available to the families of victims and to end the special powers.
Since March 2022, the government has officially arrested over 68,000 people using special powers. According to authorities, more than 5,000 people were released because they couldn’t convince a court that they had ties to criminal organizations.
Human rights groups and other foreign governments condemned the actions of the government and called for an end to what were meant to be temporary measures.
Bukele’s actions against the gangs are well-received in El Salvador.
