Thousands of people were detained in quarantine centres for alleged violations of a mandatory quarantine imposed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were reports of precarious and insanitary conditions in these centres, as well as arbitrary detentions and excessive use of force. The...

On 27 March 2022, El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved a state of emergency in response to reports of a spike in gang-related homicides. Since that time, more than 25,000 people have reportedly been arrested, and the human rights of the population are gravely under threat. Amnesty...

On 9 November 2021, the Minister of the Interior in El Salvador presented the legal initiative “Ley de Agentes Extranjeros”. The proposed law, which would prohibit “foreign agents” from carrying out activities that have “political or other purposes, with the objective of altering public order, or...

Evelyn Hernández was acquitted of charges for aggravated homicide in August, after suffering an obstetric emergency in which she lost her pregnancy in 2016. She is now at risk of further criminalization by El Salvador’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has appealed the court’s ruling. Please take...

While Salvadoran legislators have, for months, been postponing the debate on the Criminal Code reform that would decriminalize abortion, another rape survivor has been sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment for having suffered pregnancy-related complications.

Salvadorian legislators will soon debate a proposed change to the Criminal Code that, if passed, would end the total criminalization of abortion in the country. It is the first time in almost 20 years that there is a real opportunity to change this law.

El Salvador’s Attorney General filed an appeal to the judge’s ruling that set María Teresa Rivera free.

María Teresa Rivera, a Salvadoran woman recently released after four years in prison for pregnancy-related charges, risks being sent back to trial if the Attorney General decides to appeal the judge’s ruling that just set her free.

“Guadalupe”, one of the group of 17 Salvadoran women jailed for pregnancy-related offences after unfair trials was pardoned by the Legislative Assembly in a very close vote.

A series of pardon requests for a group of 17 Salvadoran women jailed with extremely long sentences for pregnancy-related offences after flawed and unfair trials is now coming up for decision in the Legislative Assembly. “Guadalupe”, the first of such cases, is due to be voted on again on 21...

The office of human rights organization Pro-Búsqueda in San Salvador was raided on 14 November 2013. Three staff members were held captive while important information was set on fire and computers containing sensitive information on legal cases were stolen.

Beatriz’s doctors performed a caesarean section on 3 June, ending her pregnancy. Beatriz’s life is no longer in imminent danger and no further action is required.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued protective measures for Beatriz, ordering the Salvadoran government to urgently provide the medical treatment she needs to safeguard her life and health. The Salvadoran Minister of Health has stated that she supports Beatriz being given the...