{"code":"26881","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"3382","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202306\/el_salvador\/26881","link_edit":"","name":"\u201cThere is enough evidence for El Salvador to be tried for crimes against humanity\u201d","slug":"-ldquo-there-is-enough-evidence-for-el-salvador-to-be-tried-for-crimes-against-humanity-rdquo-","info":"Zaira Navas, head of Law and Security at the Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal, says the \u201csystematic policy of generalized torture\u201d under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception should be a \u201cvery relevant\u201d factor in influencing the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into possible \u201ccrimes against humanity.\u201d","mtag":"Violence","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/jgavarrete'\u003E Julia Gavarrete\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"julia-gavarrete":{"sort":"jgavarrete","slug":"julia-gavarrete","path":"julia_gavarrete","name":"Julia Gavarrete","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"3382","pict":{"cms-image-000039084-jpeg":{"feat":"1","sort":"39084","name":"cms-image-000039084.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039084.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039084.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000039084-jpeg","text":"<p>Zaira Navas, head of Law and Security at the Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal, during an interview with El Faro in May 2023. Navas outlined the findings of the group\u2019s latest report, which documents 160 deaths in custody under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EZaira Navas, head of Law and Security at the Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal, during an interview with El Faro in May 2023. Navas outlined the findings of the group\u2019s latest report, which documents 160 deaths in custody under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000039085-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"39085","name":"cms-image-000039085.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039085.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000039085.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000039085-jpeg","text":"<p>Zaira Navas, head of Law and Security at the Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal, outlines the findings of her team\u2019s latest report, which documents 160 deaths in prison under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception as of May 2023. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EZaira Navas, head of Law and Security at the Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal, outlines the findings of her team\u2019s latest report, which documents 160 deaths in prison under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception as of May 2023. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038851-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38851","name":"cms-image-000038851.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038851.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038851.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038851-jpeg","text":"<p>Relatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003ERelatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":39084,"date":{"live":"2023\/06\/07"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2023","data_post_dateLive_MM":"06","data_post_dateLive_DD":"07","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202306\/el_salvador\/26876\/hay-suficientes-elementos-para-que-el-salvador-sea-procesado-por-crimenes-de-lesa-humanidad\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EZaira Navas leads a team that has interviewed hundreds of detainees under the government\u2019s \u201cstate of exception\u201d who suffered grave human rights violations during the months they spent in prison. In addition to speaking with them, Navas and her team at the law and security program of human rights organization Cristosal interviewed family members, specialists, doctors, and mortuary employees who handled the bodies of people who died in custody.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/cristosal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Informe-1-ano-regimen-de-excepcion_digital.pdf\"\u003EA new report from Cristosal\u003C\/a\u003E, based in part on these testimonies, provides compelling evidence that the government of El Salvador has committed major crimes of state including, Navas says, crimes against humanity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Salvadoran government claims to have arrested and imprisoned more than 68,000 people during the first year of the state of exception, which went into force in late March 2022, and has been renewed every month since then. In that time, Cristosal has received 3,275 reports of human rights violations, the vast majority filed by women \u2014 the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of the detained. According to Navas, who served as Inspector General for El Salvador\u2019s National Civil Police 11 years ago, most of those arrested under the state of exception are not actually gang members, as the government claims. As of late May 2023, Navas says, at least 160 people are known to have died in prison.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe found that the majority [of those who died in custody] showed signs of being beaten: in the head, in the stomach, in the back, in the legs,\u201d she told El Faro English in this interview. Her team, she adds, has documented evidence of strangulation or asphyxiation, burns, fractures, and lacerations on the bodies of the deceased.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe report describes cases of extreme torture and abuse in prison: One man suffered electric shocks while being forced to kneel on gravel to the point that he began bleeding. Another suffered a stroke after he was held in solitary confinement, given only one meal a day, and subjected to routine beatings. In another case, around 145 people confined to one cell were forced to share a single glass for water, and to eat off of the floor \u2014 abuses also \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202305\/el_salvador\/26841\/salvadoran-schoolteacher-denounces-systematic-torture-in-prison\"\u003E documented by El Faro\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf guards beat prisoners, it\u2019s because they\u2019re following orders, so it\u2019s not just the guard who is responsible, but the head of security at the prison, the prison director, the deputy director of the Bureau of Prisons, the minister of security, and the president,\u201d Navas says. \u201cIt\u2019s not random. It\u2019s a systematic policy of generalized torture.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=4000&ImageHeight=2667&ImageId=39085 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Zaira Navas, head of Law and Security at the Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal, outlines the findings of her team\u2019s latest report, which documents 160 deaths in prison under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception as of May 2023. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Zaira Navas, head of Law and Security at the Salvadoran human rights organization Cristosal, outlines the findings of her team\u2019s latest report, which documents 160 deaths in prison under El Salvador\u2019s state of exception as of May 2023. Photo V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeeking answers, family members have contacted the Attorney General\u2019s Office. In many cases, all they have received in response \u2014other than the body of their relative\u2014 is a certificate from a public hospital stating that the person died from \u201ca chronic illness or health condition.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo confirm the deaths documented in the report, Cristosal reviewed dozens of death notices, autopsy reports, birth certificates, and court documents. Since October, the group has been working on a more in-depth follow-up report that Navas says includes details of mass graves. That report has yet to be published.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work has been strenuous and exhausting. \u201cOf course it takes a toll,\u201d Navas says, reflecting on the process of collecting testimonies. \u201cHow could you not be affected, seeing people so broken?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E This is the most convincing report to date on deaths in custody under the state of exception. What has the process been like? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe have hundreds of interviews, if not thousands. Regarding the issues of prison conditions and violent deaths in custody, we are still conducting field research for an investigation that began back in October, which has yet to be concluded. But the basic process is this: First, we have to verify that the person existed; second, that the person was detained, and under what circumstances; and third, that the person died. To date, we have documented 160 deaths; of these, 139 have been fully verified. For those with no identifying details, this is because they didn\u2019t receive any information about the body \u2014 it was just handed over to them like that. In some cases, people are living in such extreme poverty that they can\u2019t even bury the body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E These people were not given any information about the bodies? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe strongly suspect that there are many people buried in mass graves and that the families do not know, because they haven\u2019t gone to the prison, or haven\u2019t gone enough times, to ask about their family member. There are people who suspect that their loved ones are buried in mass graves, but they don\u2019t have the resources to look for them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E Are there people who were buried in these graves without their families\u2019 knowledge? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYes. In one case, the family found out that their relative had died two months after she was buried. They had continued to deliver packages to her in prison even two or more months later. She was buried in a mass grave because they [the authorities] had mixed up her name. And they have such horrible handwriting. It\u2019s unbelievable that they wouldn\u2019t notify families given that they register when they deliver packages. And those who are detained provide an address. Most often, families find out from mortuaries \u2014 previously established funeral homes which often fight over who gets the bodies. When we finish our investigation, we\u2019ll shed light on the whole situation with the mortuaries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E In the report, you talk about conducting field work at mass graves. Did your team visit them? Are the graves located in cemeteries, or somewhere else? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ones we saw were in cemeteries. People say there are other graves in other places, but we haven\u2019t been able to confirm that.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E I imagine one of the cemeteries you\u2019re talking about is La Bermeja in San Salvador. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYes, there are graves there. Those are the mass graves where they bury unidentified people. The point is that there should not be any mass graves for people deprived of freedom, because the state knows their names, where they were imprisoned, where they died. \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you investigate conditions in the prisons?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe interviewed more than 100 people who had been granted conditional release. Our team also includes a number of people who worked for years monitoring prisons. In the report, we don\u2019t identify survivors by name because they could face arrest or execution. In prisons like Apanteos, Mariona, and Izalco, the process of receiving inmates was identical: the detained are forced to kneel or squat on gravel, or on cement and dirt floors, with their hands behind their heads. Groups of 20, 30, 50 people at a time are unloaded from the vehicle, held there for half an hour or so, then forced to enter in a line, running in a squat position. Whoever stays behind, because he\u2019s sick, or because he\u2019s been beaten so badly he can\u2019t move, gets another beating; whoever raises his head gets beaten. This is the protocol for \u201cwelcoming\u201d prisoners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDoes this type of reception happen at all of the prisons?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe know this is how prisoners are received at Izalco and Mariona. In Apanteos, it\u2019s different, depending on who arrives. This might have to do with how prisoners are booked. There was a case, for example, of a young man who had past conflicts with police. He came recommended, so to speak, so he suffered special treatment. That young man was tortured twice, and was admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke. Another issue is the treatment of trans women, who have been taken to Apanteos. They are subjected to extreme forms of punishment. Or lesbian women: If guards see two women holding hands or leaning on each other, that\u2019s a guaranteed beating. Gender-based discrimination is very common.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe state of exception has opened the door for these people to beat, kill, and torture at will. Guards kill and beat people like it\u2019s a game, and they do it arbitrarily, like they were in a Roman circus: they throw soapy water on prisoners and make them run, and if they fall, they beat them. This is how one elderly man died. These practices have already become institutionalized. On the other hand, I would like to say that, at least in the testimonies we received, prisoners tell us that they felt a great sense of solidarity from the vast majority of their fellow inmates. The other point I should mention, too, is that most of the people we\u2019ve spoken with \u2014released prisoners\u2014 say the majority of people inside are not actually gang members. And we have not identified a single gang leader being held in any of these prisons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E If most people in prison are not gang members, why do they release so few of them? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are defense attorneys who do everything they can to get someone out and still don\u2019t succeed. In some cases, it has to do with personal characteristics. Teachers or people with stable employment, who are married, who own property, who can prove that they support themselves and others, and who aren\u2019t being prosecuted for a specific crime: it\u2019s not the same to be identified as a gang leader as it is to be charged with being a collaborator. More than 80 percent of the detained are prosecuted as collaborators. At the time we published our previous report, when they were reporting 55,000 total arrests, only 90 people had been arrested for homicide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the most part, they\u2019ve apprehended people who, if they were gang members at all, were part of the rank and file, not the top leadership. Not even one percent of requests for conditional release have been granted. Authorities say that about 5,000 people have been released, but none of the organizations working on this believe that figure. We do not have an accurate estimate of how many people have been released. We\u2019ve learned that in some cases the Attorney General\u2019s Office does not object to the request for conditional release, and that sometimes it\u2019s the AG\u2019s Office itself that filed the request. But we don\u2019t know under what criteria. There are also cases where public pressure has worked, for example, with \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202208\/el_salvador\/26319\/Las-22-capturas-en-El-Esp%C3%ADritu-Santo-la-isla-sin-pandillas.htm\"\u003E the people detained on Esp\u00edritu Santo Island. \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat were the mental states of the people you interviewed?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe effects of being inside are extremely serious. For one thing, 95 percent of people had lost considerable weight and acquired skin diseases. For people who had preexisting chronic conditions, those conditions had been aggravated. The first people I saw were women, back in August. Some of them had lost track of reality; they had temporary mental illnesses, ranging from insomnia to anxiety, depression, and anguish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38851 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Relatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Relatives of detainees under the state of exception hold vigil outside El Penalito, a prison in San Salvador, hoping for the release of their loved ones. Photo: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA significant number of the people we interviewed regained their jobs after their employers wrote letters on their behalf saying they would rehire them. There\u2019s a lot of solidarity, because we\u2019re talking about poor people who work in carpentry, as mechanics or street vendors, in restaurants, bars, even at mortuaries or as groundskeepers at cemeteries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E In the beginning, many people submitted letters to the court that were never taken into account. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt first, everyone was denied conditional release. In September, that changed, and they started accepting petitions for release. But really, only people with a formal job have a chance of being granted release, which leaves street vendors, informal workers, and campesinos vulnerable, without recourse.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E The criminalization of poverty has been a major focus of criticisms of the state of exception. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is why we wanted to make it clear, in the case of the deaths, who the people were. Many people are still afraid \u2014 afraid that if they denounce the deaths of their loved ones, they will be killed, they will be arrested.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E Your organization has documented how, in some cases, death notices say one thing but the bodies say another. What does this contradiction tell you? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the coroner at the Instituto de Medicina Legal [IML, the Medical Examiner\u2019s Office] orders an autopsy, it\u2019s because the body shows signs of violence. And in all the death notices we verified, the coroner had recommended an autopsy. When a person dies in a hospital from a presumed natural cause, there is no need for an autopsy, just the cause of death. But when there\u2019s a referral to the IML, it\u2019s because the hospital detected some violent cause of death. When a body shows obvious signs of injury, but the coroner\u2019s report and even the autopsy do not mention it, then those authorities are failing to comply with their professional duties, and the Attorney General\u2019s Office, at the very least, should investigate the case.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShould we call this breach of professional duty complicity?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo, because it\u2019s a different role.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E I\u2019m trying to assess what degree of illegality the Medical Examiner\u2019s Office might be implicated in. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the coroner who performs the remains recovery indicates there should be an autopsy, it\u2019s because he does not have sufficient confidence in determining the cause of death. So in that part of the process, we can\u2019t establish direct responsibility because the coroner is shifting responsibility to someone else. The issue is that the only thing the family receives is the death notice; their right to know the cause of death is being violated, and there is a deliberate attempt to conceal, on the part of the Attorney General\u2019s Office, because all these cases should have been referred for investigation. All of these cases should be handled by the prosecutor\u2019s office.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre families given access to any files or reports?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo death notices from the IML, yes, but not to most of the case documentation, like clinical reports or the autopsy. Often families are simply told \u2014 sometimes just verbally \u2014 that the person died. In the case of the 39 people we don\u2019t have identifying details for, but who were buried, their relatives are afraid to ask. I want to emphasize: This is not a complete list. These are only the cases we have been able to verify.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo these cases constitute state crimes?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOf course! This is a government policy. If guards beat prisoners, it\u2019s because they\u2019re following orders, so it\u2019s not just the guard who is responsible, but the head of security at the prison, the prison director, the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Prisons, the Minister of Security, and the President. It\u2019s not random at all. Haven\u2019t we heard the president himself say, \u201cwe\u2019re going to let them starve?\u201d Once, Bukele even came to visit a prison, and the day before, the guards gave everyone a beating, telling them: \u201cAnyone who raises his head is going to die.\u201d It\u2019s a systematic policy of generalized torture, to punish all detainees, regardless of whether they\u2019re guilty. They want to present an image of vengeance and hatred toward the gangs. But most of the people detained are not gang members.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E This report has information that might compel international organizations to intervene. Do you think that what you\u2019ve documented might open that door? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe have appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights due to the failure of habeas corpus. In the future, if the families want us to accompany them, we hope to file individual complaints denouncing the deaths of their loved ones before the Inter-American Commission and Inter-American Court. Public denunciations and the accompanying documentation will be very relevant in influencing the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into El Salvador, because the cases that the ICC hears are not about individual violations. The ICC prosecutor will have to present the case, but there is already enough evidence for El Salvador to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E What crimes against humanity might the Salvadoran state be involved in committing? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe state bears responsibility for the deaths, since it is the state\u2019s obligation to protect the life and integrity of any person in their custody. In this case, as I mentioned, we\u2019re talking about a government policy. There are arbitrary acts, and there is probable responsibility. We\u2019re talking about commission by omission, and a number of crimes that would have to be determined by the Attorney General\u2019s Office and the judges, of course... if there are any. At this moment, in El Salvador, there is no possibility of even prosecuting those responsible for the deaths, because the Attorney General\u2019s Office and the judges have all been appointed by the current government. The international community and international human rights agencies are the ones in a position to take action.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E The Minister of Security and Justice has said that \u201cin every prison system, there are deaths.\u201d Is what we\u2019re seeing in El Salvador a normal rate of deaths in prison? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo, no. Absolutely not. There is a significant difference in the deaths we\u2019re seeing now, compared to deaths in the past, and here I\u2019m referring to a time when there were huge prison riots. There were two major events that marked prison life in El Salvador: in the early 90s, the massacre in Gotera, where heads rolled and the prison was set on fire. The same happened in Apanteos in the 2000s. It\u2019s a very different situation when the deaths are caused by inmates. Today, we\u2019re talking about systematic death. The deaths occur in the same way, against the same people, and for the most part, the responsibility lies with the guards and sicarios\u00a0inside.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESicarios?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe have testimonies \u2014not many, just a small few\u2014 that there are inmates inside who carry out summary [extrajudicial] executions, who kill on purpose.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E Do they have something to do with gangs operating inside the prisons? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll I can tell you is what the testimonies say. The gangs have learned to survive inside, and quite well, by the way. In Mariona, the gangs self-separate: in a cell meant to hold 70 people, but that now holds 200, for example, there might be 15 MS gang members, and Barrio 18 will have nine. The rest of the inmates, caught in the middle, are civilians. And as always, just like on the outside, gang members play their game of, \u201cyou are where you\u2019re from.\u201d But the majority are civilians, and they stay neutral.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E Is it possible to confirm whether gangs exercise the same control inside as they did on the outside? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo, that\u2019s not possible to know. There are small fights, over soap, over going to the bathroom, things like that. But there haven\u2019t been any issues with major conflicts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENot even with civilians?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo, they don\u2019t mess with civilians. The thing is, inside, they\u2019re in survival mode. It\u2019s a different sociological phenomenon. There\u2019s not enough water for everyone. So obviously, whoever gets to drink water first are probably the gang members.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E Do they get special treatment, for example, with the food packages delivered by families on the outside? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe packages are never delivered to prisoners. Ninety-nine percent of the people we interviewed told us they never even received any medications, with the exception of some who had terminal illnesses and were later transferred to Quezaltepeque. There, they do receive medications. But with the food packages, they only let in some cereal, sometimes a little bit of milk, or a little bit of Incaparina (corn and soy porridge). But when families sent clothes, or mattresses, they never received them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow can the police not be aware of all this?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe police are part of it. The re-arrests and illegal detentions prove it. People get told they\u2019ll be released, and are overjoyed to get out, but after they go through the process, they\u2019re handed their release papers, and then as they walk through the prison gates, the guards laugh and give their papers to the police, who arrest them again. Or sometimes they\u2019ll take them out of prison. At Mariona, they\u2019ll take people to the Mejicanos police station and charge them with \u201cterrorist associations.\u201d This is double jeopardy, and illegal detention. Then they\u2019ll take that person back to prison, or to a different prison, and now he\u2019s charged with two crimes. But his family continues to wait and hope, still believing that he\u2019ll be let out.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E So the government has the only eyes inside the prisons? Is there no way to get a different version of events, other than the official one? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInside the prisons, yes. It\u2019s difficult without an account from the victim themselves. We have documented that some churches have been allowed to enter, like Toby\u2019s church. [\u201cToby Jr.,\u201d pastor of Tabern\u00e1culo B\u00edblico Bautista Amigos de Israel, has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarlosDada\/status\/1637437512032370688?s=20\"\u003E vocally supported\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0mass arrests under the state of exception.] I don't know about civil society organizations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E What case best describes the systematic brutality your organization has documented? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEdwin, 24 years old, was detained for eight months in the Mariona Prison gang unit. His family, who had nothing to do with gangs, managed to make contact with him when he was transferred to a hospital, and he told them what was going on. He had been hit several times in the stomach. He stopped coming out to eat meals, to avoid the beatings. This caused him to develop extreme gastritis, and he stopped drinking water. Then his kidneys started to fail. When he was taken to the hospital, the doctor\u2019s report states, \u201cHe was vomiting blood. He is expelling remnants of clotted blood. He already has a ruptured stomach. He is going to die.\u201d Edwin said: \u201cI\u2019m going to keep telling everything until I die.\u201d The Medical Examiner\u2019s Office says he is dying of end-stage chronic kidney disease, and the tests performed by the hospital confirmed that his stomach was destroyed by the beatings. On top of that, he was completely emaciated, like a corpse. It was systematic torture, not allowing him to eat, to go out in the sun, to drink water, and to beat him constantly like that, to cause such a serious illness and not give him medical attention.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E The stories we hear are horrific. But despite the fact that this is happening to so many people, the policy has very high rates of approval among citizens. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis population is very \u003Cem\u003Emanodurista\u003C\/em\u003E, very supportive of \u201ciron fist\u201d policies, very conservative. People have suffered a lot of harm from the gangs and the government sells the policy as only targeting gang members, that they\u2019re only killing gang members. Our report has an important section on punitive populism, where we talk about how the government has sold the idea that the situation calls for punishment. But people have suffered a lot, and now they believe they\u2019re safe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp align=\"right\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E *Adapted for El Faro English by Roman Gressier and translated by Max Granger \u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cem\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}