Report: 500 prisoners have died in Bukele's El Salvador

TT

Published 21.59

           

          Prisoners train in one of El Salvador's mega prisons. Archive photo. Photo: Salvador Melendez/AP/            TT

Around 500 inmates have died during President Nayib Bukele's four-year war on gangs – most of them did not belong to any group, a new report warns.

Since March 27, 2022, Bukele has maintained a state of emergency in the country during which more than 90,000 people have been deprived of their liberty without legal grounds, which has led to human rights violations, according to the report from the human rights organization Socorro Juridico Humanitario (SJH).

The data is based on testimonies from family members and access to sources. SJH has compiled information on over 500 people who have died in El Salvador's prisons, of which 94 percent are not believed to have belonged to any gang.

Nearly a third of the deaths are said to have occurred as a result of lack of medical care, while 30 percent are said to have died as a result of violence.