More than 80 organizations from Latin America, the United States, and Europe signed a statement in support of the demands of those directly affected by the State of Exception in El Salvador, including the families of the Movement of Victims of the Regime (MOVIR). They called on the international community to denounce the country’s human rights violations.

Read the full statement and view list of signers here.

The organizations denounced that since the implementation of the State of Exception in 2022, those detained have not had access to trials or preliminary hearings, with proceedings limited in most cases to initial hearings (or arraignments) automatically imposing pre-trial detention. The majority of those arrested under the measure have already been held for over three years in pretrial detention. The continuation of this measure has been made possible through legal reforms and decrees such as Decree 803, approved in July 2023, which suspended all hearings related to State of Exception cases for two years, automatically extending pretrial detention and paving the way for mass trials.

Despite increasing political repression against organizations and human rights defenders in El Salvador, groups such as MOVIR and others continue their advocacy. Recently, MOVIR mobilized in front of the Legislative Assembly to demand that Decree 803 not be extended, as its expiration was scheduled for August 25. However, on August 15, the Legislative Assembly, controlled by the ruling Nuevas Ideas party, approved an extension of up to two more years.

In this context, various organizations—including CEJIL, the American Association of Jurists, the Ecumenical Office for Peace and Justice in Germany, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) in the U.S., the Committee in Solidarity with El Salvador in Mexico, Nación Salvadoreña en el Exterior, among others—urged support for MOVIR’s demands. These include the immediate release of all those against whom no evidence exists and the individualized review of cases instead of resorting to mass trials.

Human rights, religious, legal, immigrant rights defense, and Salvadoran diaspora organizations in several countries, among other sectors, reaffirmed their commitment to defending human rights in El Salvador and stressed the need to strengthen international solidarity to support the legitimate demands of the families of those arbitrarily detained, disappeared, or killed at the hands of the state.

The alert was issued following MOVIR’s report of a new incident of intimidation by the National Civil Police on Wednesday, September 3, when members were en route to deliver correspondence to the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office.

Experiencias Transfronterizas de Universitarios Centroamericanos (TECUS), representing organized Central American students and diaspora at California State University, Northridge:
“As university students in Los Angeles, California, with personal, family, and ancestral ties to Central America and El Salvador, we are deeply impacted by the disappointing actions we witness today in El Salvador. Nearly 90,000 people have been imprisoned without trial for years under deadly conditions in Salvadoran prisons, and these reforms prolong this unacceptable reality. As we observe and denounce the use of militarized tactics by the U.S. federal government against immigrant communities here in Los Angeles, we are also aware of and denounce the Salvadoran government for exercising the same violence against its own citizens, and we fear for the future of immigrants who could be deported to El Salvador and possibly imprisoned without evidence or trial under the State of Exception.”

Vicki Gass, Executive Director of the Latin America Working Group (LAWG):
“The illegal expulsion of Venezuelans by the Trump administration to the CECOT gulag in El Salvador this past March exposed to the world the grave human rights violations that have taken place under Bukele’s government since the State of Exception was declared three years ago. Systematic torture and persecution are state policies facilitated by the erosion of the rule of law, judicial independence, and government transparency. And, with the Foreign Agents Law passed in June, civic space for human rights defenders, activists, and journalists is being slammed shut. LAWG stands in solidarity with MOVIR and other organizations seeking justice for their loved ones unjustly imprisoned and is committed to ensuring that the U.S. government ceases to be complicit in the Salvadoran people’s human rights violations through its support for the government.”

Alexis Stoumbelis, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES):
“We salute the families of the victims of the State of Exception and all the people and organizations preparing to march bravely this Independence Day to claim their rights and demand an end to the injustices of Bukele’s regime. The actions of the Attorney General’s Office and the Legislative Assembly in El Salvador do not happen in the dark: this statement by various organizations shows that in the United States and around the world, people are watching with alarm as individuals are imprisoned or forced to flee simply for demanding respect for human rights and compliance with international law.”

Jean Stokan, Justice Team Coordinator for Immigration, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas:
“As we mourn the sudden loss of Father José María Tojeira, we also feel imbued with his legacy of perseverance and dedication to continue fighting for justice. Father Tojeira persisted until his death in making visible the truth of the injustices committed by the Salvadoran state throughout history, while the Bukele government seeks to cover up the atrocities committed under its militarized State of Exception. Like Father Tojeira, we must show solidarity and shed light on the anguish of tens of thousands of Salvadorans who have suffered unjust imprisonment under this so-called war on gangs. The families who will march bravely on Monday alongside social movement leaders and organized communities will be accompanied not only by organizations from around the world but also by the spirit of Father Tojeira.”