SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A three-month mass trial of hundreds of alleged gang members of MS-13 wrapped up Wednesday in El Salvador, with prosecutors delivering their closing arguments and asking for maximum sentences.
The proceedings against 485 members of the international criminal Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang on charges that include homicide, extortion, drugs, arms and human trafficking, have drawn criticism by human rights groups, which say they infringe on defendants' rights under the Latin American country's state of emergency.
The state of emergency, enacted in March 2022, suspended some constitutional rights and tens of thousands of Salvadorans have been detained since then.
"First, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defense," said Juan Pappier, Americas deputy director for Human Rights Watch.
"This is not justice; it is giving a veneer of legality to the arrests of innocent people that should never have happened."
The proceedings against 485 members of the international criminal Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang on charges that include homicide, extortion, drugs, arms and human trafficking, have drawn criticism by human rights groups, which say they infringe on defendants' rights under the Latin American country's state of emergency.
The state of emergency, enacted in March 2022, suspended some constitutional rights and tens of thousands of Salvadorans have been detained since then.
"First, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defense," said Juan Pappier, Americas deputy director for Human Rights Watch.
"This is not justice; it is giving a veneer of legality to the arrests of innocent people that should never have happened."
14 days ago
