El Salvador's Attorney General's Office held rights lawyer Ruth López in pretrial detention for a year in a sealed case
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Ruth López, head of the anti-corruption unit at the rights group Cristosal, was arrested on May 18, 2025 on embezzlement allegations tied to her earlier work as an adviser to a former Supreme Electoral Tribunal magistrate; about 15 days later the charge was changed to illicit enrichment. A judge ordered pretrial detention on June 4, 2025 and extended it for six months in December 2025; Human Rights Watch says the case remains sealed with no evidence presented in open court. The Attorney General's Office has described her as a trusted adviser to the former judge and confirmed the embezzlement allegations, while Cristosal and rights groups say the case is politically motivated.
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- Human Rights Watch
detention extended December 2025; arrested May 18, 2025
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