El Salvador Human Rights Lawyer Detained Over a Year

El Salvador human rights lawyer Ruth López has spent the past year in pretrial detention following her arrest, with her case under judicial seal. Human Rights Watch called on Salvadoran authorities to ensure López receives a timely, transparent, and fair trial, to remove the judicial secrecy surrounding her case, and to permit regular communication with her family and legal team. At 48, López oversees the Anti-Corruption Unit at Cristosal, a prominent human rights organization in Central America. She has been actively investigating allegations of corruption involving high-ranking officials in President Nayib Bukele’s administration and has vocally opposed serious human rights abuses during the state of emergency in the country. Her detention initiated a concerning trend of repression against critics of the government, including journalists and human rights advocates. “Ruth López has long warned that President Bukele is undermining institutions meant to protect Salvadorans from abuse,” stated Juanita Goebertus, the Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Her situation tragically illustrates the validity of her concerns. The authorities must eliminate the secrecy surrounding her case, present credible evidence in an open setting, and grant López proper access to her legal representation.” López was arrested on May 18, 2025, at her San Salvador home. Initially charged with embezzlement from her prior role as an adviser to former Supreme Electoral Tribunal magistrate Eugenio Chicas, the accusation shifted to illicit enrichment approximately 15 days later. During a hearing on June 4, 2025, a judge ordered her to remain in pretrial detention, transferring her to La Granja de Izalco prison, where she still resides. In December, the presiding judge extended her detention by another six months, with her current order expiring in June 2026. To date, the evidence against López has not been disclosed in an open court, and no justification has been given for keeping her case under judicial seal. Through her role at Cristosal, López has tackled issues related to the suspected misuse of public funds, including irregularities in pandemic-related contracts. She also contested the summary dismissal in May 2021 of the attorney general and five Constitutional Chamber magistrates and led campaigns against the December 2024 repeal of El Salvador’s metal mining ban. Furthermore, she filed habeas corpus petitions for Venezuelans transferred to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, CECOT). López’s arrest was succeeded by widespread actions against government critics, as reported by Human Rights Watch. On May 20, 2025, just two days post-López's detention, the Legislative Assembly, under Bukele’s influence, enacted a controversial “foreign agents law.” While purportedly aimed at transparency, the law effectively grants the government authority to oversee, stigmatize, and penalize human rights organizations and independent media receiving international funding. Since its implementation, the Association of Journalists of El Salvador and several other civic groups have shuttered their offices in the country, citing the law’s stringent requirements. On June 7, 2025, police apprehended Enrique Anaya, a prominent constitutional lawyer and staunch critic of the government, on allegations of money laundering. He had spoken out against López's incarceration shortly before his own arrest and remains in pretrial detention under similar judicial constraints. This surge in repression has prompted many critics of the government to flee abroad. From May to September 2025, at least 140 human rights advocates and journalists departed El Salvador. Cristosal announced in July 2025 that it would halt its operations in the country, relocating to Guatemala and Honduras due to the climate of fear, emphasizing the stark choice between “exile and prison.” The indefinite pretrial detention of López and others reflects a troubling trend in El Salvador, where legal reforms adopted since 2022 have effectively dismantled due process protections. These include the suspension of limits on pretrial detention and the facilitation of mass hearings for numerous defendants simultaneously. Many of these measures have been enforced amid the state of emergency that has persisted since March 2022 and led to the detention of more than 91,000 individuals. Human Rights Watch has reported extensive human rights abuses during this period, including mass arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and abysmal conditions in custody. The independence of the judiciary in El Salvador has been significantly undermined since May 2021, when the Legislative Assembly removed the five Constitutional Chamber magistrates and the attorney general, replacing them with pro-executive figures. On September 22, 2025, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recognized that both López and Anaya were facing severe and immediate risks to their life, safety, and well-being, urging the Salvadoran government to guarantee proper prison conditions, which should include regular family and legal contact. Thus far, El Salvador's authorities have not made any public commitments to implement these recommendations. Internationally, governments and human rights organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, should increase their scrutiny of El Salvador’s human rights situation. They must call on the Salvadoran government to assure López, Anaya, and other detained critics receive a timely, transparent, and fair trial while lifting the veil of secrecy around their cases and ensuring regular contact with families and lawyers. According to its Democratic Charter, the Organization of American States (OAS) is obligated to address and take action against “unconstitutional alterations of the constitutional regime that significantly undermine the democratic framework.” However, its Permanent Council has largely ignored the pressing issues in El Salvador. “With its crackdown against human rights defenders and journalists, El Salvador is aligning itself with authoritarian regimes like Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba,” Goebertus remarked. “Latin American and European governments must regard the country’s authoritarian turn seriously and increase their responses without delay.” For more on this topic, visit [Human Rights Watch](https://www.hrw.org) and [United Nations Human Rights](https://www.un.org/en/human-rights). Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/18/el-salvador-human-rights-lawyer-still-in-jail-one-year-on

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