Over 60 children in El Salvador have been arbitrarily detained, tortured, and beaten since the government declared a state of emergency over two years ago to combat gang violence, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released on Tuesday.
The report states that police and soldiers have detained 3,319 children and teenagers from March 2022 to April 2023, the period during which the state of emergency was in effect and certain civil rights were suspended. This timeframe also includes the initiation of mass trials.
“Many children who have been arrested and detained had no apparent connection to gangs’ abusive activity,” the HRW report said. “In detention, authorities subjected children to severe ill-treatment that in some cases amounted to torture.”
The Salvadoran government has however previously denied allegations of torture in its prisons.
Compiled from more than 90 interviews, the HRW report details that jailed children have been deprived of adequate food, healthcare, and contact with their families. In many instances, children were coerced into making false confessions.
“Authorities have taken few, if any, steps to protect the children from violence by other detainees, including beatings and sexual assault,” HRW said. The group documented 66 cases of minors subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, and police harassment. It warned that arrests appeared to be based on physical appearance and socioeconomic conditions rather than credible evidence.
The report also found that over 1,000 minors have been sentenced to terms of up to 12 years for broadly defined crimes in trials that lacked credible evidence and due process.
The state of emergency has led to the arrest of over 80,500 people, significantly reducing the number of homicides and making El Salvador one of the safest countries in the Americas. This crackdown has earned President Nayib Bukele strong popular support. However, the harsh methods have drawn significant criticism.
Last week, local rights group Cristosal reported that at least 265 people have died in state custody, including four babies.
Melissa Enoch
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