Media Defence condemns the arrest of Ruth López, Chief Legal Officer at the human rights organisation Cristosal in El Salvador.
López is a renowned lawyer and human rights defender. Her work exposing corruption and human rights abuses has earned national and international recognition, including being named one of the BBC’s 100 most inspiring women of 2024.
Her detention, which took place late on the 18th of May at her home, is not an isolated event. Since taking office in 2019 President Nayib Bukele’s government has increasingly targeted civil society and independent media.
In March 2022, President Bukele imposed a nationwide State of Exception that suspended key civil liberties, including the right to due process. Although the measure was instituted under the pretext of tackling gang violence and improving public safety, many human rights organisations have identified it as a thinly veiled tool of repression.
Originally introduced as a temporary response, it has now been extended 33 times, for over three years. In that time, security forces have reported detaining more than 85,000 people – including over 3,000 children – amounting to more than 1% of El Salvador’s population.
Under Ruth López’s leadership, the team at Cristosal has produced dozens of legal analyses and filed numerous lawsuits addressing government corruption and human rights violations. They have consistently monitored the erosion of the rule of law, the manipulation of state institutions to silence dissent, and violations within the prison system, including torture, ill-treatment, and preventable deaths. López has also campaigned online to promote political transparency and public accountability.
López’s detention is emblematic of the type of harassment suffered by independent media and human rights defenders in El Salvador and the broader strategy of criminalisation and intimidation aimed at dismantling independent oversight.
We echo Cristosal’s urgent call for the Salvadoran authorities to ensure Ruth’s physical safety and to guarantee her right to due process.
