Europe EditionEl Salvador arrests human rights lawyer critical of President Bukele
- El Salvadoran authorities arrested Ruth Eleonora Lopez, a 47-year-old human rights lawyer and anti-corruption director, in February for alleged embezzlement a decade ago at an electoral court.
- The arrest followed accusations linking Lopez to theft of state funds, while her organization Cristosal claims this is part of a government campaign to criminalize human rights defenders under President Nayib Bukele.
- Lopez, a critic of Bukele’s widely supported crime-fighting approach who works with detained Venezuelan migrants returned to El Salvador by the U.S., was taken into custody without authorities revealing her location or allowing legal counsel access, raising serious questions about due process.
- A coalition including Amnesty International condemned Lopez’s arrest as indicative of growing authoritarianism and called for her release, noting El Salvador’s state of exception also silences critical voices.
- The case implies heightened risks for civil society amid Bukele’s crackdown on gangs and critics, while his allies emphasize national security improvements despite allegations of justice system manipulations.
112 Articles
112 Articles
El Salvador: Prominent Human Rights Defender Arrested
Ruth López. © El Diario de Hoy (Washington, DC) – Authorities in El Salvador have arrested the prominent human rights lawyer Ruth Eleonora López, Human Rights Watch said today.On May 18, 2025, at 11 p.m., Salvadoran police arrested López at her home in San Salvador. Prosecutors are accusing López—who currently serves as the Director of Anti-Corruption and Justice at Cristosal, one of the leading human rights organizations in El Salvador—of embez…
Salvadoran Prosecutor’s Office Arrests Prominent Critic of the Bukele Regime
On Sunday, the Salvadoran Attorney General’s Office (FGR) arrested Ruth Lopez, a prominent human rights defender and head of the NGO Cristosal’s Anti-Corruption and Justice team, on suspicion of embezzlement. The FGR accuses Lopez, an attorney named to the BBC’s list of the 100 most influential women of 2024, of allegedly participating “in the misappropriation of public funds” while working as an assistant to former government official Eugenio C…
Human Rights Defender’s Arrest in El Salvador Triggers International Criticism - teleSUR English
The Center Against Corruption and Impunity in Northern Central America condemned the detention of lawyer Ruth Lopez. On Monday, the Center Against Corruption and Impunity in Northern Central America (CCINOC) condemned the arrest of lawyer Ruth Lopez and the attacks against Cristosal, an organization specializing in the defense of the human rights of victims of various types of violence in El Salvador. RELATED: Salvadoran Prosecutor’s Office Arre…
Activist and lawyer Ruth Eleonora López, who assists families of the 252 Venezuelan migrants who were deported by the United States and imprisoned in a maximum security prison in El Salvador, was arrested yesterday by order of the Central American country’s prosecutor’s office, which accuses her of “sinful” while working for the electoral court, a decade ago. At the close of this edition, the place to which she was sent was unknown.
Attorney Ruth López – one of the most critical voices of President Nayib Bukele’s government and human rights defender – has been arrested on Sunday night on charges of embezzlement of public funds, reports EFE. López, head of the Anti-Corruption area of the organization Cristosal – one of the most important in El Salvador – and was included in 2024 by the BBC in the list of the 100 most influential women of that year. The arrest has triggered a…
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