Over 80,000 Salvadorans have been detained — some of whom opposition figures maintain are innocent — since gang-busting President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency in 2022 that allowed arrests without warrants.
[snip]
The approval came just 10 days before a two-year deadline ran out for charges to be filed for the imprisoned detainees.
One of the provisions of the reform said the Attorney General’s office “will bring charges against the organized crime and its members… within a maximum period of 24 months,” while also allowing for a 12-month extension.
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The government accuses the detainees all of being gang members, but with scant evidence or due process, no one knows for sure.
Inside the assembly, opposition lawmaker Francisco Lira warned that “innocent” people could be tried in the mass trials, which he estimated could be “40 percent” of those detained.
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To file the charges, the Attorney General’s office will “group the defendants into a single case” for each gang, with the main ones under scrutiny being the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs.
Around 300 prosecutors will present evidence in roughly 600 mass trials for the suspects, Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado told a congressional security committee on Thursday.
* Original Article:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/el-salvador-extends-detention-suspected-223243620.html