First modification:
The measure that suspends the right of assembly and grants additional powers to the security forces, enters into force after being approved by the National Assembly of El Salvador, with an official majority, at the request of President Nayib Bukele. The Government assures that the state of exception is necessary to fight against gang violence. However, civil organizations denounce human rights violations due to alleged arbitrary arrests and mistreatment in prison.
With 67 votes in favor among 84 seats, the National Assembly of El Salvador, with an official majority, approved the extension of the state of emergency for 30 days, which would end at the end of next June.
The state of emergency was initially approved after a series of homicides, in March, when authorities blamed gangs for 62 murders in a single weekend, a level of violence that the country of 6.5 million inhabitants hadn’t seen in years.
The decree gives the security forces additional powers to combat criminal groups, suspends the right to assemble, associate, defend and inviolate correspondence and telecommunications, and extends the time a person can be detained without charge to 15 days, between other measures.
The Security Minister, Gustavo Villatoro, promised that the actions against the alleged criminals will continue. “This war is going to continue for as long as it takes and as long as the public continues to demand it (…) We are going to continue facing this cancer, and we have said it before and we maintain it, this war will continue until the gangs are eradicated from the territory of El Salvador,” said Villatoro.
This is the second extension of the state of exception. First, it was guaranteed in March for a duration of one month and in April it was extended until May.
The country’s Constitution indicates that the extension should not exceed a maximum period of 30 days, but does not limit the number of times it can be extended, according to the analysis presented by the Bukele government.
The alleged abuses in the midst of the state of emergency
Polls suggest the emergency decree has strong support among Salvadorans tired of years of murder and extortion.
And while the extensive history of violent crimes by gangs in the Central American nation is well known, some experts point to alleged abuses that the government is incurring with the state of emergency.
Since it first came into force, Bukele has used emergency powers to detain some 34,500 suspected gang members.
Rights groups charge that arrests are often arbitrary, based on a person’s appearance or where they live. For this reason, civil organizations underline their concern that innocent citizens are being captured in the raids.
Rights groups have accused El Salvador’s government of arbitrary arrests and violations of due process amid a two month crackdown on gang violence ⤵️ https://t.co/wBYETuvn7f
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 26, 2022
Likewise, the Reuters news agency reported earlier this month that the arrests have been massive, resulting in the detention of some not guilty people.
Bukele has also established other measures in this matter. Among the most controversial, the extension of sentences and the reduction of the age, to 12 years, to establish responsibility before the Justice.
On the other hand, the Salvadoran Constitution allows the extension of the state of exception as long as the causes that generated the declaration are maintained. And in this case, the original justification: the increase in homicides, has decreased as recognized by the Government itself.
During the past weekend, the head of Congress announced that El Salvador has seven consecutive days without homicides, accrediting the “total fight against terrorists.”
“If there is a legal justification, and obviously there isn’t, articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution are very clear about the causes that can trigger a state of emergency, and the causes have disappeared,” emphasized Ruth Eleonora López, lawyer and activist. of the Cristosal civic group.
Abuses in Salvadoran prisons
Human rights defenders also maintain that suspected gang members held in Salvadoran prisons have had their food rations reduced, been denied mattresses, and been forced down stairs in a frog position.
In fact, Nayib Bukele has publicly admitted and praised the conditions of these inmates. “We have them without mats, sleeping on the floor, overcrowded, with two meal times and in conditions in which I am sure that none of the gang members outside want them,” said the head of state at a public event last month. of April.
The popular Bukele has sought to prioritize security in the Central American country, where bloody violence perpetrated by prison gangs and drug traffickers has been a long-standing problem.
His strong measures would have broad support, according to a recent survey by the Francisco Gavidia University Center for Citizen Studies that showed that 72% of Salvadorans support his eventual re-election for a second term.
In September 2021, the Supreme Court struck down a constitutional ban on presidential reelection, but Bukele has yet to confirm whether he intends to run for office again.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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