El Salvador judge orders detention of prominent lawyer Ruth Lopez
Ruth Lopez, anti-corruption and justice director of Cristosal, arrives at a courthouse for a hearing, after she was arrested for alleged embezzlement while she served as a state official, in San Salvador, El Salvador, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Ruth Lopez, anti-corruption and justice director of Cristosal, arrives at a courthouse for a hearing, after she was arrested for alleged embezzlement while she served as a state official, in San Salvador, El Salvador, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
SAN SALVADOR - A judge in El Salvador ordered the provisional detention of prominent lawyer Ruth Lopez, human rights group Cristosal said on Wednesday.
Lopez, a well-known human rights and anti-corruption advocate, was arrested by Salvadoran authorities last month over allegations of embezzlement during her time as a state official.
She left Wednesday's hearing shouting that she was innocent and said she had now been charged with illicit enrichment.
"I am a political prisoner. All the charges are because of my legal work, due to my denunciation of corruption in this government," Lopez added. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Russian attacks kill one in eastern Ukraine, one in the north
Russian attacks kill one in eastern Ukraine, one in the north Russian strikes on Saturday on key towns in Donetsk region on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine killed at least one person while another died in a drone attack in the north near the Russian border, officials said. The Russian military said its forces had captured another village in its slow advance westward through Donetsk region. And reports from Kharkiv region in the northeast suggested Russian troops were closing in on the city of Kupiansk. Russian forces struck Sloviansk and Kramatorsk -- two cities that Moscow will target as its forces press on with their westward drive. Both towns have come under frequent attack since the Russian invasion of its neighbour in February 2022. Donetsk region Governor Vadym Filashkin said one person died and three were injured in Sloviansk, with pictures posted online showing buildings reduced to rubble. He said four multi-storey dwellings and 32 private homes had suffered damage. In Kramatorsk, pictures posted by the city council showed heavy damage to part of an apartment building. Officials said at least one person was trapped under rubble and a number of other residents were injured. A mass drone attack on the town of Nizhyn near the Russian border killed one person and damaged local infrastructure. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had seized the village of Zaporizhzhia, southwest of Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian forces have been holding back Russian attacks for months. Zaporizhzhia village is distinct from the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional centre and large industrial hub located some 160 km (90 miles) to the southeast. The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces on Friday listed the village as one of several where Kyiv's forces had repelled Russian attacks. On Friday, the Russian Defence Ministry said it had captured the village of Moskovka, just outside the city of Kupiansk, also the target of repeated Russian attacks in recent months. Both Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers have reported an upswing in fighting around Kupiansk this past week. The town was first occupied by Russian forces in the first weeks of the 2022 invasion, but recaptured by Ukrainian troops later in the year in a lightning counter-offensive. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 22, 2025
US President Donald Trump (centre) Vice-President J. D. Vance (left) and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly took part in a tense June 19 call with Israel's leaders over Mr Trump's two-week deadline on whether to strike Iran. PHOTO: REUTERS While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 22, 2025 US split as Israel seeks swift action on Iran, sources say Israeli officials have told the Trump administration they do not want to wait two weeks for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle key parts of its nuclear programme and Israel could act alone before the deadline is up, two sources said, amid a continuing debate on Mr Trump's team about whether the US should get involved. The two sources familiar with the matter said Israel had communicated their concerns to Trump administration officials on June 19 in what they described as a tense phone call. The Israeli officials said they do not want to wait the two weeks that US President Donald Trump presented on June 19 as a deadline for deciding whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran war, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Israeli participants on the call included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir, according to a security source. READ MORE HERE B-2 bombers moving to Guam amid Middle East tensions The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials told Reuters on June 21, as President Donald Trump weighs whether the US should take part in Israel's strikes against Iran. It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions. The B-2 can be equipped to carry America's 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran's nuclear programme, including Fordow. READ MORE HERE Mahmoud Khalil vows to resume pro-Palestinian activism Mahmoud Khalil vowed to resume his pro-Palestinian activism as he returned to New York a day after he was released on bail from a jail for immigrants, even as US President Donald Trump's administration said it will continue its efforts to deport the recent Columbia University graduate. He arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on the afternoon of June 21 to cheers and ululations from friends and supporters. Mr Khalil, 30, was reunited with his wife, a US citizen, and greeted at the airport by US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York. READ MORE HERE Eight dead in Brazil hot-air balloon accident At least eight people were killed on June 21 when a hot-air balloon with 21 passengers caught fire in southern Brazil, a state governor said. It was the second fatal balloon accident in the vast South American country in less than a week. Videos taken by bystanders and carried on Brazilian television showed the moment when the balloon erupted in flames above a rural area outside the Atlantic coast town of Praia Grande, a tourist hotspot popular for hot-air ballooning. READ MORE HERE Belarus opposition leader freed after US mediation Belarus' top jailed opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky was freed alongside over a dozen other political prisoners on June 21 in a surprise release the European Union hailed as a 'symbol of hope'. His wife, Mrs Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition after his jailing, said the United States helped broker the deal and thanked US President Donald Trump. Mr Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years. READ MORE HERE Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Turkey detains prominent journalist for allegedly threatening Erdogan
ANKARA - Turkish authorities detained prominent independent journalist Fatih Altayli on Saturday over social media comments allegedly threatening President Tayyip Erdogan, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said. Altayli, who has more than 1.51 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, posted a video on Friday referencing an unnamed poll showing 70% of Turks opposed Erdogan ruling for life, saying this would "never be allowed" by the Turkish people. Altayli also referenced past Ottoman rulers in his comments, saying people had "drowned", "killed", or "assassinated them in the past." His comments drew backlash from an Erdogan aide, Oktay Saral, who said on X that Altayli's "water was boiling". In a statement, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said the comments from Altayli "contained threats" against Erdogan, and said an investigation has been launched against him. Legal representation for Altayli could not immediately be reached for comment. Altayli's detention comes amid a series of detentions of opposition figures in recent months, including the arrest in March of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who is Erdogan's main political rival. The main opposition CHP says the detentions and arrests of its members, along with other opposition members and journalists or media personalities, is a politicised move by the government to muzzle dissent and eliminate electoral challenges to Erdogan. The government denies these claims, saying the judiciary and Turkey's courts are independent. Turkish authorities have in the past carried out widespread detentions and arrests against opposition politicians, namely pro-Kurdish local authorities. More than 150 people jailed so far over what Erdogan's government says is a ring of corruption that the CHP denies. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
