El Salvador human rights lawyer demands public trial as police haul her before judge

A lawyer from a prominent human rights organization who has been an outspoken critic of some of President Nayib Bukele's policies demanded a public trial as police brought her before a judge in El Salvador Wednesday. Prosecutors sought to charge her with illegal enrichment and jail her for six months pending trial.
Observers say the case against Ruth Eleonora López is retaliation for her work while authorities allege she aided one of her former employers being prosecuted for embezzlement. Authorities arrested López at her home on May 18.
The anticorruption lawyer, who works for the nongovernmental organization Cristosal, has denied the accusations.
Wednesday's hearing was closed to the public as the case is under seal.
As she was escorted by police through the court building Wednesday, a shackled López with a Bible between her hands, shouted: 'They're not going to silence me, I want a public trial,' according to a brief video posted by Cristosal on X. 'The people have to know.'
She had not made her initial appearance before a judge until Monday, more than two weeks after her arrest.
At that hearing, prosecutors announced the illegal enrichment, different from the original embezzlement, and requested that she be held while they continue to investigate.
Cristosal has been an critic of some of Bukele's policies, including the state of emergency giving him special powers that has now been in place for more than three years.
'Ruth has dedicated her life to the defense of human rights and the fight against corruption,' Cristosal said in a statement last week. 'Hers is not an isolated case: it is part of a pattern of criminalization against critical voices.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

'Evil' student sentenced to life in jail for drugging and raping multiple women

One of Britain's worst rapists suspected of targeting over 60 victims has been jailed for life. Chinese student Zhenhao Zou, 28, was described as an 'evil' sexual predator who hid behind a 'charming mask' as he was imprisoned for a minimum of 24 years for drugging and raping ten women in London and China during his time as a student at University College London. Following his conviction in March, detectives revealed they had evidence relating to suspected attacks on another 50 women after uncovering a sickening collection of trophy videos kept by the engineering PhD student as a souvenir. A further 24 victims came forward to say they were raped by Zou while he was studying in the UK. He filmed some of his victims in sick home videos that he kept of his attacks. Victims told how they were 'haunted' by the sickening attacks as a judge said the sexual deviant had treated unconscious women like 'sex toys' for his own pleasure. Inner London Crown Court heard that Zou had offered to be chemically castrated to avoid a life sentence. However, Judge Rosina Cottage said he would always be a risk to the public because of his 'sexual interest' in 'asserting power and control over women', and added that his victims were just 'pieces in an elaborate game'. Upon sentencing him to life, Judge Cottage said: 'The charming mask hid the fact that you are also a sexual predator.' The son of a wealthy Chinese Communist Party official and industrialist, Zou stalked student bars, accommodation, and online dating apps for victims, plying unsuspecting women with drinks laced with drugs. He lured the women back to his lavish student apartment in East London with the promise of a party or help with studies, before stupefying them with drink and drugs until they fell unconscious, enabling him to film his sickening attacks on hidden bedroom spy cameras. One victim, who Zou had described as 'the perfect girlfriend choice', recalled waking in a strange room after going to a drinking party in 2021. The victim said: 'I experienced for the first time a loss of consciousness. I opened my eyes for a few seconds during the sexual assault in [Zou's] room, he was thrusting violently against my body. I was completely powerless and could only use all my strength to demand he stop. 'Although I lost consciousness just moments later, his face in that moment will clearly stay in my mind forever.' She later awoke naked next to him: 'Panic surged through me-everything about the room I was in was unfamiliar and I had no memory of how I got there. 'That night, it was as if the world had vanished from my life for hours. 'I will never forgive him.' TV appearance: Zou boasted of his sexual prowess and appeared on a dating show in China Another app: A Tinder profile where he appeared under a different name Disturbingly, many of the women targeted may not realize they had been raped as some of Zou's home videos showed his captives so incapacitated that he was able to slap one victim around the face without them rousing. Zou unwittingly left a treasure trove of evidence for officers by recording the attacks for his own twisted gratification and hoarding personal items stolen from victims, ranging from underwear and lipstick, to a Chanel earring. Out of it: Zou's home videos showed his captives so incapacitated that he was able to slap one victim around the face without them rousing By the time of his trial, only two of the ten victims had been identified by police, but now detectives have traced a third victim. Detectives have established from the video clips seized that there are at least another 50 unknown women attacked. One victim said the attack in his London flat in May 2023 had a 'severe impact' on her mental health, resulting in her self-harming to try to manage the pain. The judge said of her case: 'Outrageously, she was trolled on social media for having bravely warned others. It has rocked her to her core, she feels guilt for your behavior, you (Zou) feel no shame.' Found: A number of other illicit substances were also recovered by police Another victim in China described being 'gagged by shame' and 'haunted' by nightmares following the attack. On June 19, jurors who had earlier wept upon seeing the distressing rape videos returned to Inner London Crown Court to see him sentenced. Bespectacled Zou wore a navy suit and tie and he stared at jurors, showing no emotion as he was jailed. Contraceptives: Zou kept a large collection of condoms in a Louis Vuitton box Facade: He mostly posed as a diligent student Scotland Yard began investigating Zou in November 2023 after a woman reported him for rape. When officers examined his digital devices, they uncovered over 1,600 hours of videos. Victims living in Britain, China, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe have since come forward. Chillingly, Zou said the victims in his videos were only pretending to be asleep as he enjoyed 'time-stop' pornography. Saira Pike, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women. His life sentence reflects the heinous acts and harm he caused to women and the danger he posed to society.'

Daily Mail​

5 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Woman, 32, arrested over fatal hit-and-run of Netflix star Sara Burack in Hamptons

A 32-year-old Virginia woman has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of a popular Netflix actress, authorities said. Amanda Kempton was charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in connection to the hit-and-run death of Million Dollar Beach House star Sara Burack, according to the Southampton Town Police Department. Burack, 40, a real estate agent and former reality television personality was struck by a vehicle shortly before 3:00 am on Montauk Highway near Villa Paul Restaurant in Hampton Bays, New York. Emergency responders found her critically injured at the scene, and she later died at Stony Brook University Hospital. The vehicle involved fled the scene, prompting a large-scale search by local and state authorities. Following an extensive manhunt led by the Southampton Town Police Department and the New York State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit, Kempton was taken into custody. She has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death, a Class D felony under New York State law. If convicted, she faces up to four years in prison. Law enforcement officials have not yet disclosed details about how Kempton was identified as a suspect. Kempton is scheduled to be arraigned on Saturday as the investigation remains active, according to the New York Post. Public officials have urged anyone with additional information about the incident to contact Southampton Town Police, as the full circumstances surrounding the event are still under investigation, local outlet, Dan's Papers reported. Burack was a licensed real estate broker with experience in the luxury real estate market. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she gained national visibility as a cast member on the Netflix series Million Dollar Beach House. She appeared on Netflix's Million Dollar Beach House, which ran for one season in 2020. The show pitted real estate agents against each other in a 'fierce' competition to close deals on luxury homes in the Hamptons Burack was also active in charitable work, including fundraising for leukemia research and animal rescue initiatives. Her sudden death has elicited an outpouring of grief from friends, former colleagues, and members of the entertainment and real estate communities. 'I want people to remember she was an amazing person who really cared for people,' close family friend and fellow realtor Paulette Corsair told Newsday. 'She was a hardworking real estate agent who was there for others. She was loved greatly by her friends and a close family.'

Times

6 hours ago

• Times

The wait of the law: justice delayed is an injustice in itself

Eight hundred and ten years ago, the ­writers of Magna Carta slipped a crucial word into the document they forced King John to sign. The monarch had to promise not to 'deny or delay' justice to his subjects. The law must decide — and, crucially, it must do so promptly. Today we report that the average wait for a case to come to trial at magistrates' courts has reached 346 days. For some people it extends to three years. The price of this indefensible delay is paid by the innocent. First, the victims, who after being traumatised by crime are left in limbo, with that trauma unresolved; second, those who are wrongly accused, living with an unjustified stain on their reputation and a shadow over their future. After eight centuries Magna Carta has no legal force, but its moral authority remains. The government should recognise that, and act accordingly. Justice delayed is not only justice denied: it is an injustice in itself.