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Authorities in the Central American country released a 38-year-old prisoner who was sentenced to 30 years on charges of aggravated homicide after suffering an obstetric emergency in June 2011. Local human rights groups celebrated the woman’s release.
In El Salvador, a 38-year-old prisoner was released who was serving the tenth year of the 30-year sentence that sentenced her on charges of aggravated homicide after suffering a miscarriage.
According to local human rights groups, Elsy – her last name was not released – had suffered an obstetric emergency in June 2011 when she was working as a domestic worker. She was subsequently arrested and was quickly put on trial and charged with murder.
The Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion in El Salvador explained that the original court case had irregularities, including the absence of a defender for the defendant. “His erroneous 30-year sentence for aggravated homicide has ended,” the group’s president, Morena Herrera, said in a statement.
In it they also assure that they must “continue to fight tirelessly” to free the women who continue to be deprived of their liberty.
The organization added that Elsy will soon be reunited with her son, who “only had her.” The groups lamented that an “error in the interpretation” of the resolution of the Ministry of Security, which reaffirmed the commutation of the sentence, delayed her release for a month and a half.
El Salvador, one of the most restrictive countries on abortion
The Central American country still has a debt regarding women’s rights and has been harshly criticized by international organizations. For example, last November, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Central Americans had violated the rights of a woman identified as ‘Manu’, who was sent to prison and died while serving a 30-year sentence for violating the restrictive laws of the abortion.
With the voluntary interruption of pregnancy prohibited in all cases, including those generated in circumstances of rape, incest or when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger, in the last 20 years the Salvadoran authorities criminally prosecuted 181 women who suffered obstetric emergencies. According to feminist organizations, since 2009, 61 of them have been released.
Last December, international celebrities promoted the “Freedom for the 17” campaign where they asked President Nayib Bukele to release the 17 women who remain imprisoned for miscarriages or other emergencies. Since the launch of the petition, five of them received commutation of their sentences.
In September, the Salvadoran president affirmed that he will exclude from a proposal to the Constitution any possibility that opens the door to the decriminalization of abortion and marriage between people of the same gender.
With Reuters and EFE