Spanish
A court in El Salvador ordered this Tuesday that lawyer Enrique Anaya, a staunch critic of President Nayib Bukele, remain in provisional prison accused by the Prosecutor's Office of alleged money laundering.
The 61-year-old constitutional lawyer is one of five critics of the president arrested in recent weeks on various charges. His lawyer claims he is innocent of the crimes he is accused of.
"Unfortunately, the result has not been what we expected," said Anaya's defender, Jaime Quintanilla, at the end of a hearing held by the Seventh Peace Court of San Salvador.
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"However, despite all the justifications we presented as a defense and the effort we made for this stage, [which] was to seek a substitute measure [to pre-trial detention], because against all odds, unfortunately, we couldn't achieve it, so Enrique will remain in custody," added Quintanilla after the three-hour hearing. During a midday recess, Anaya could be observed by journalists: dressed in a white shirt and blue pants, he left the courtroom in handcuffs, escorted by police officers armed with rifles, and crossed his arms over his chest in a greeting. The process against Anaya, who suffers from diabetes, is under reserve, so it is not possible to know details of it, remarked his defender, who anticipated that they will appeal the order to continue in prison. Meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office will continue with its investigations against the constitutionalist before a court decides whether he will be brought to trial. The Supreme Court indicated on Saturday that it admitted a habeas corpus appeal in favor of the constitutionalist after recognizing "the violation of the rights to health and defense." Anaya, who was arrested on June 7, is a lawyer and analyst highly consulted by the press and in radio and television interviews openly criticized the president, whom he referred to as "dictator". In recent weeks, four other critics of Bukele were also arrested in El Salvador, including human rights activists and lawyers. According to NGOs, the arrests seek to silence Bukele's critical voices.The previous week, a survey by the Jesuit Central American University showed that six out of ten Salvadorans are afraid to criticize the president or his government, as it may bring them "negative consequences," such as being arrested.
Bukele was re-elected in February 2024 thanks to the high popularity of his "war" against gangs, which has reduced criminal violence in the country to unprecedented levels. This gang crackdown is based on an exception regime criticized by human rights groups for allowing detentions without a warrant.
