On December 17, the Community and Human Rights Defense Unit (UNIDEHC) delivered a letter signed by 52 organizations from 16 countries to El Salvador’s Human Rights Ombudsman, denouncing political persecution faced by human rights defender and whistleblower Fidel Antonio Zavala Pérez. Read the full statement here.

The statement, released in response to the reopening of the case against Zavala after he was previously acquitted of business fraud charges, calls on the Salvadoran government to drop the case and end its media campaign aimed at discrediting Zavala by falsely accusing him of crimes for which he has already been found innocent.

Following his release from thirteen months of pre-trial imprisonment, Zavala became the first formerly incarcerated person to bring a formal complaint against Salvadoran prison directors. He also publicly detailed the torture, medical neglect, and corruption he witnessed firsthand at press conferences, media interviews and rallies. The organizations also called on the government to investigate the crimes detailed in Zavala's legal complaint.

The Salvadoran diaspora, human rights, and international solidarity organizations from 16 countries around the world that signed on to the statement emphasized their “solidarity with Fidel and the countless other social movement leaders facing political persecution and intimidation at the hands of the Nayib Bukele government.”

The statement was delivered as part of an official complaint by Zavala’s legal team denouncing ongoing persecution against Zavala. As recently as December 13, police visited Zavala’s mother’s house, asking if it was his residence.

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Press contact:

Alexis Stoumbelis, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), [email protected] +1 (202) 521-2510 ext. 205