On May 8, 2022, police in El Salvador arrested Geovanni Antonio Aguirre López, then 32 years old, at his family home under the State of Exception. Geovanni, a union leader and municipal worker in San Salvador, had participated just days earlier in the May Day march, where thousands took to the streets to defend labor rights and protest Bukele’s government policies. 

Geovanni had worked for the San Salvador Mayor’s Office since 2016 and was active in defending the rights of municipal workers. He was also deeply involved in youth, cultural, and social organizing in his community. His defense attorney has stated that, after reviewing the case file, there is no serious, objective, or legal evidence linking Geovanni to criminal organizations and that the evidence instead documents his work defending labor and union rights.

Following his arrest, Salvadoran courts have ordered Geovanni released under alternative measures on two separate occasions. His attorney has denounced the failure to comply with these judicial orders and called for an investigation into possible crimes of disobedience and breach of official duties by prison authorities.

During more than four years of imprisonment, Geovanni has also endured periods of enforced disappearance, during which his family and attorneys did not know where he was being held. His family and legal defense have also expressed serious concerns about his health, as they have received no updated medical information for approximately two years despite a previous examination documenting conditions requiring treatment.

Despite two judicial orders for his release, Geovanni is set to be prosecuted in a mass trial before the Fourth Tribunal Against Organized Crime. He has been grouped with other defendants accused of illicit association based on the alleged gang structure operating in the area where he lived. His defense and human rights organizations warn that including him in a collective trial denies him an individualized review of his case and further prolongs his arbitrary detention.

In July, 80 international human rights, labor, faith, migrant rights, and Salvadoran diaspora organizations called for Geovanni’s immediate release, denouncing his arbitrary detention, periods of enforced disappearance, and the refusal to comply with judicial orders granting him freedom. His case has also been raised before the International Labour Organization (ILO), whose Committee of Experts has requested information from the Salvadoran government regarding his detention and the protection of freedom of association.

We demand the immediate freedom of Geovanni Aguirre and that Salvadoran authorities comply with the judicial orders for his release, guarantee an individualized judicial review, provide complete and updated information about his health, and end the criminalization of union organizing under the State of Exception.
Raise your voice for Geovanni’s freedom!