GENEVA - UN experts* today expressed serious concern about the yearlong pre-trial detention of lawyer and woman human rights defender Ruth Eleonora López Alfaro in El Salvador.
"As time passes without the trial beginning, the presumption that detention is necessary is weakened," the experts said.
"A year of pre-trial detention, without duly demonstrated extraordinary complexity in the case, or obstructive procedural conduct by the defence is, prima facie, unreasonable and disproportionate. This renders the measure an anticipatory form of punishment."
López has been held in pre-trial detention for a year, officially authorised since 4 June 2025. During this time, she has been denied regular visits, despite precautionary measures ordered on 22 September 2025 by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. "This increases Ms. López's vulnerability and puts her physical and psychological integrity at risk," the experts said.
In maintaining judicial secrecy, the public is prevented access to hearings and the defence's access to the criminal file is limited, thereby threatening the principle of equality of arms and the right to an adequate defence. The right to legal assistance of a lawyer of one's choice is a cornerstone of the right to defence as established in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
"The circumstances of detention and the irregularities in the proceedings, point towards López being subject to reprisals because of her legitimate activities as a human rights defender and lawyer," they said.
The experts underscored that there are elements suggesting that the criminalisation and prolonged pre-trial detention of Ruth López not only stem from her work exposing corruption and human rights violations, but also appear to reinforce patterns of social control designed to silence women leaders in the public sphere, while also seriously undermining the work of their organisations.
"We are alarmed that the public dissemination of her image and the stigmatisation of her persona - alongside the denial of basic procedural guarantees - seem to reflect a strategy designed not only to deprive her of liberty, but also delegitimise her authority and dissuade other women from exercising their right to defend human rights."
The experts urged the State to release Ruth López Alfaro immediately and consider alternative measures instead of keeping her in custody. They also called for the removal of the judicial secrecy imposed in the criminal proceedings, the cessation of all acts of harassment against her, and guarantees that she may carry out her human rights work without fear of reprisals.
The experts are in contact with the Government of El Salvador on this matter.
