El Salvador: Evelyn Hernandez cleared over baby's death

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

El Salvador: Evelyn Hernández cleared over baby's death

20 August 2019

A 21-year-old woman in El Salvador whose baby was found dead in the toilet where she gave birth has been cleared of murder during a retrial.

Evelyn Hernández had always maintained she was innocent, saying that she did not know she was pregnant and lost consciousness during the birth.

Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of 40 years.

Her case has been closely watched in El Salvador and abroad with women's rights activists calling for her acquittal.

El Salvador has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world. Abortion is illegal in all circumstances and those found guilty face between two and eight years in jail.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49368632


Ms Hernández had repeatedly said she was innocent (AFP)

[Eugene]

1. El Salvador rape victim acquitted over stillbirth murder charge

Source: Associated Press

El Salvador rape victim acquitted over stillbirth murder charge

Associated Press
Mon 19 Aug 2019 23.42 BST

A young rape victim who was suspected of having an abortion and charged with homicide after having a stillborn child has been acquitted by a judge at a retrial in a case that attracted international attention to El Salvador’s strict abortion laws.

Evelyn Beatriz Hernandez, now 21, had served 33 months of a 30-year prison sentence when her conviction was overturned in February for lack of evidence and a new trial was ordered. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year sentence.

The retrial was a first for such a case in the Central American nation, where prosecutors have aggressively pursued legal cases against women who have had miscarriages or other obstetric emergencies, accusing them of murder.

“Thank God, justice was done,” Hernandez said following the announcement of the verdict, visibly emotional as dozens of women waited at the courthouse. “I also thank you who have been present here.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/20/el-salvador-victim-acquitted-over-stillbirth-charge