El Salvador Police Accused Of Human Rights Abuses As Government Continues Gang-Related State of Emer
El Salvador Police Accused Of Human Rights Abuses As Government Continues Gang-Related State of Emergency
Elle Yap / Dec 08 2022, 05:00AM EST
A Salvadoran soldier searches a man during a major government operation against gangs in the city of Soyapango on December 3, 2022. Photo by: El Salvador's Presidency Press Office via AFP/Handout
An independent report released on Wednesday by the organization Human Rights Watch alleges that the El Salvador government’s nine-month anti-gang crackdown has resulted in human rights violations from the military and the police as well as forced detentions and crackdowns with little to no evidence proving .
The report, released by the Human Rights Watch in association with the Salvadoran nonprofit Cristosal, show that many of those imprisoned or detained by the government have suffered through ‘torture,’ among other things, and that very little transparency has come in to document the process of the arrests, according to Reuters.
The state of emergency and anti-gang crackdown happened after multiple civilians were killed in March due to the actions of alleged gang members. The emergency declaration, which has been renewed many times, allows police to arrest people for longer periods of time and with them having little recourse for legal defenses.
Over 58,000 people, including 1,600 children, have been arrested since the crackdown began.
President Nayib Bukele has repeatedly rebuffed any concerns of human rights violations on his anti-crime crackdown, saying that his security policy has brought down crime significantly and given “peace” to neighbors riddled with gang activity.
More:
https://www.latintimes.com/el-salvador-police-accused-human-rights-abuses-government-continues-gang-related-536134