Unknown content type | CISPES: Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador

On the eve of a special hearing in their cases, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) reiterates our call for the immediate release of Alliance for a Peaceful El Salvador coordinator José Santos Melara (Pepe) and grassroots journalist

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.

On Monday December 9 the National Assembly, controlled by Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party, voted to extend the country’s State of Exception, which has suspended basic civil rights since March 2022, for the 33rd time. Within this context, Salvadoran social movements and civil society organizations commemorated International Human Rights Day (December 10) with multiple days of action highlighting emblematic cases and situations that altogether exemplify the Bukele government’s widespread and systematic attack on human rights in El Salvador.

Solidarity with Mónica Rodríguez, Steve Magaña Ruiz, and Carlos Najarro.

The decision to grant a retrial presents further evidence of the deterioration of independence within El Salvador’s judicial system, and its politicization to punish and weaken the struggle to uphold the Law of Prohibition of Metals Mining of 2017.

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"I am a CISPES supporter because continuing to fight for social justice and a more people-centered country means continuing the dream and sacrifice of thousands of my fellow Salvadorans who died for that vision.” - Padre Carlos, New York City