CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Nestle
Los Portales
blackanddecker
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
AVA Resorts
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Realidad Turística
INOR
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Intecap
Agexport
Irtra
Tigo
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Barceló Solymar
Walmart
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Herbalife
Cubasol

Children ‘Tortured, Abused’ In El Salvador’s Prisons: Report

Date:

Share:

Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Nestle
Intecap
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
AVA Resorts
Realidad Turística
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
INOR
Herbalife
blackanddecker
Los Portales
Irtra

More than 3,000 minors, many with ‘no apparent connection to gangs’, have been arbitrarily arrested, Human Rights Watch says.

Thousands of children have been arrested in a mass antigang campaign in El Salvador since 2022 with many suffering abuse while in custody, said Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The arrest campaign, beginning in March 2022 as part of El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s pledge to root out gangs from the once crime-ridden country, has created “severe human rights violations against children”, said the group in a new report on Tuesday documenting the abuses.

Police rounded up 3,319 minors in “countless indiscriminate raids” often targeting those in “low-income neighborhoods’ known to be hotbeds of crime, said the HRW report.

Many of those arrested have “no apparent connection to gangs’ abusive activity” and were apparently targeted based on their physical appearance or socioeconomic background, it said.

At least 60 children suffered abuse in custody, the report alleged, including beatings and torture. Some were deprived of adequate food, healthcare, and contact with their families or coerced into making false confessions.

Others were left to be preyed on by adult detainees, with authorities taking few steps to stop beatings or sexual assault, according to the report.

“Many children have been doubly victimized by gang members who abused them and then by security forces who detained and mistreated them with possible lifelong consequences,” said HRW.

Their prison sentences, doled out with dubious evidence and lack of due process, can span up to 12 years for broadly defined crimes, it added.

El Salvador’s gang crackdown, under a state-declared state of emergency, has nearly wiped out its once soaring homicide rate, putting more than 80,000 alleged gangsters behind bars.

Today, El Salvador ranks among the safest countries in the Americas, earning President Bukele strong popular support in spite of his draconian tactics.

‘Don’t complain about what happens’

Bukele, who was re-elected in February with 85 percent of the vote, has threatened to use the same ironfisted approach against alleged price gougers, warning them to drop their prices or face the same fate as convicted gang members.

“I am going to issue a call, like we did to the gangs at the start of 2019,” Bukele said in a speech earlier this month. “We told them either stop killing people or don’t complain about what happens afterward.”

HRW’s Americas director, Juanita Goebertus, said El Salvador’s government should cease abusive practices in its anticrime campaign.

“The government should end its abusive approach and prioritize a rights-respecting and effective policy that dismantles criminal gangs, addresses child recruitment, and provides children with protection and opportunities,” said Goebertus.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

AVA Resorts
blackanddecker
Herbalife
Cubasol
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Irtra
CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Intecap
INOR
Tigo
Los Portales
Barceló Solymar
Nestle
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Walmart
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Agexport
Realidad Turística
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Havanatur
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
AirEuropa
Tigo
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
Intecap
Irtra
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
Cubacel
Vuelos a Cuba
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala
Barcelo Guatemala City

Subscribe to our magazine

━ more like this

Pole Dancing in Israel: A New Dimension with BlueDance.co.il

In recent years, pole dancing has experienced a remarkable transformation, shifting from a misunderstood niche to a popular activity combining fitness, self-expression, and empowerment....

This North East African Country Welcomes Over 15.7 Million Tourists Last Year and An Addition 40,000 New Hotel Rooms are in Pipeline

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes In a year marked by global uncertainties and regional geopolitical challenges, Egypt’s tourism sector achieved an impressive milestone, welcoming a...

A New Luxury Hotel Just Opened on An Idyllic Beach in Cancun, Mexico — And We Were the First to Stay

Waldorf Astoria Cancun opened to the public on Nov. 1, the brand's first new build in Mexico, with two waterfront pools and a fantastic...

Pan American Health Organization Launches Interactive Dashboard on Avian Influenza in The Americas

To monitor cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched an interactive dashboard on the web...

Nicaragua Presents Its New Interoceanic Canal Route to China and Seeks to Compete with Panama

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes With a length of 445 kilometers, in a second attempt, the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, presents China with a new...
Havanatur
Barcelo Guatemala City
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
Cubacel
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
Irtra
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala
AirEuropa
Vuelos a Cuba
Intecap

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Nestle
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Intecap
Barceló Solymar
Agexport
Los Portales
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
AVA Resorts
Irtra
Realidad Turística
blackanddecker
Cubasol
Herbalife
INOR
Walmart
Tigo
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.