Difficult situation for imprisoned lawyer in El Salvador

TT

Published 2026-07-02 23.44

 

Human rights lawyer Ruth López after a court appearance in June last year. Photo: Salvador Melendez/AP/TT

Relatives of a Salvadoran human rights lawyer – who was deprived of her liberty in the regime's mega prisons – warn that her life could be in danger.

48-year-old Ruth López had been criticizing authoritarian President Nayib Bukele for corruption and human rights violations for a long time when she was arrested in May last year.

After she was recently allowed to receive visitors for the first time, her sister is alarmed that her condition is serious.

– Her health has deteriorated sharply, says Claudia López in a video and warns that her sister is at risk of a heart attack if she does not receive adequate care.

Several hundred detainees have died during Bukele's war on gangs, most of whom did not belong to any group, a report from March warned.

Since 2022, Bukele has maintained a state of emergency in the country under which more than 90,000 people have been detained without legal basis.