In 2025, El Salvador remains engulfed in a severe human rights crisis centered on the treatment of human rights defenders under a prolonged state of exception declared since March 2022. This analysis explores the statistical scale of arbitrary detentions, legal reforms undermining due process, and the stances of key stakeholders demanding urgent protection and justice guarantees for defenders and civilians. With more than 88,000 detained and hundreds of deaths reported in custody, the Salvadoran justice system’s impartiality is severely compromised, prompting widespread domestic and international condemnation.
Mass Arbitrary Detentions and Their Human Cost
Since the imposition of the state of exception, characterized by successive extensions now counting 42 times, over 88,000 individuals have been detained under conditions lacking basic fair trial rights. These detentions encompass human rights defenders, such as lawyers, journalists, environmentalists, and community leaders critical of the government. The incarceration conditions have proven deadly; at least 400 detainees have died in custody, with reports documenting torture and inhumane treatment.
This model of mass detention ostensibly aimed at combating organized crime has been weaponized to silence dissent. Local civil society groups have documented a staggering 24.2% rise in attacks against human rights defenders in 2023 compared to the previous year, highlighting the intensifying repression faced by vulnerable groups including women defenders and Indigenous activists.
Undermining of the Rule of Law Through Legal Reforms
Recent criminal legal reforms have augmented the repression by introducing mechanisms that contravene international standards. These include automatic pretrial detention, concealment of judges’ identities, and harsher sentencing provisions extending even to children and adolescents. The reforms have blurred the line between justice and political repression.
Amnesty International has emphasized,
“Instead of impartially delivering justice, the criminal justice system in El Salvador has become a weapon to punish dissent and stifle civic space”
(Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International).
Such legal frameworks facilitate indefinite detentions without evidence and hinder defendants’ access to a fair trial, eroding fundamental principles like the presumption of innocence.
Prominent Cases Highlighting Systemic Abuses
Several human rights defenders symbolize the broader crackdown. Lawyer Ruth López, constitutional expert Enrique Anaya, and activist Alejandro Henríquez have been detained on questionable charges such as embezzlement and money laundering without credible evidence. Their prolonged pretrial detention and lack of transparent judicial processes send a chilling message across El Salvador’s civil society.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and UN special rapporteurs have denounced these detentions. The IACHR in its statements urged the Salvadoran government to,
“immediately release lawyers Ruth López and Enrique Anaya, as well as all human rights defenders and community leaders who have been arbitrarily detained for political reasons; and respect due process guarantees”
(IACHR, 2025).
They condemned the misuse of the state of exception to suspend basic rights and use pretrial detention as a punitive tool.
Harassment and Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders
The repression extends beyond detention. The criminalization of activists is accompanied by judicial harassment, threats, and defamation campaigns aimed at delegitimizing human rights work. The Foreign Agents Law further restricts freedom of expression and association by criminalizing receipt of foreign funding for civil society organizations.
Civil society organizations and international bodies have warned of a “chilling effect on the work of human rights defenders, increased violence and intimidation, and forced exile of dozens of civil society actors” (IACHR, 2025). Such tactics obstruct meaningful civic engagement and undermine democratic institutions.
Government Response and Rejections
The Salvadoran government rejects accusations of political persecution, asserting the state of exception complies with constitutional mandates and institutional oversight. It presents the measure as a legitimate response to a high crime wave that threatens public safety and fundamental rights.
The government also defends the Foreign Agents Law, branding it a necessary tool for transparency in international funding channels. However, this official position has been widely criticized for ignoring the human rights implications and the documented abuses by state security forces.
The International Community’s Role and Calls for Action
International bodies including the UN, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have urged El Salvador to uphold due process and cease using the penal system as a tool of political repression. Amnesty International reiterates:
“Defending human rights or protesting peacefully can cost you your freedom today”
(Ana Piquer, 2025).
They call for reversing harmful legal reforms, ending arbitrary detention, ensuring transparent and fair trials, and explicitly protecting defenders from threats and torture. The international community has also highlighted the urgent need to repeal repressive laws like the Foreign Agents Law to restore civic space.
The Imperative for Due Process and Justice
The treatment of human rights defenders in El Salvador is emblematic of a broader systemic crisis where judicial independence, rule of law, and democratic freedoms are under threat. The extensive arbitrary detentions, deaths in custody, and politically motivated prosecutions underscore the urgent need for comprehensive reforms.
Guaranteeing full due process rights for detained defenders and civil society actors is not only a legal obligation under international human rights law but essential for restoring trust in El Salvador’s institutions. Sustained domestic advocacy supported by the international community may yet reverse these troubling trends, safeguarding the fundamental rights of all Salvadorans.
