San Salvador.- The number of people who have died in El Salvador’s prisons following their arrest under the state of exception, in effect since March 2022 against gangs, has risen to at least 547, according to information provided this Tuesday by the non-governmental organization Socorro Jurídico Humanitario (SJH).
“The number of fatalities rises to 547. The tragic figure of at least 547 people who have died in state custody in the context of the state of exception, without having been convicted in court and without a criminal profile, represents a profound human rights crisis that cannot be ignored,” the NGO published on X.
He pointed out that “what is even more alarming is that 94% of these people did not have gang profiles and died under the custody of the State and in total impunity”.
Physical violence, the leading cause of death
Socorro Jurídico Humanitario, an organization that emerged within the framework of the state of exception to provide legal advice to the relatives of detained persons, stressed that “the real death toll could exceed a thousand, facing a systematic effort to hide information in mass trials.”
According to the NGO, the deaths have been recorded mainly in the prisons where the majority of the more than 92,480 detainees under this regime are held, most of whom have not been convicted, while little is known about the well-known Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) prison.
More Read
According to an SJH report released at the end of January, physical violence is the leading cause of death for inmates in El Salvador’s prisons, accounting for nearly 32% of reported cases.
The state of exception remains in effect
So far, President Nayib Bukele’s government has not commented on the matter, nor has it reacted to said situation.
We recommend reading:
More Read
The exceptional regime, approved in March 2022 following an escalation of murders at the hands of gang members and which suspends constitutional guarantees for the population, has left 6,400 reports of human rights violations and is the Bukele government’s main measure against gangs to reduce violence.
The measure remains in effect despite multiple calls from human rights organizations to end its implementation and has the support of nearly 85% of the population.
