Salvadorans march against Bukele's re-election attempt | News

Thousands of Salvadorans mobilized on Friday in the capital of the Central American country in rejection of President Nayib Bukele's intention to be re-elected and denounce hundreds of arbitrary and illegal detentions in the midst of the state of emergency.

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In the middle of the march, thousands of mothers and relatives of people arbitrarily imprisoned demanded their release, stating that they are innocent and that there is no evidence that they belonged to gangs.

Organizations and social movements called for the march to also denounce alleged arbitrariness committed in the midst of the state of emergency, the lack of democracy and the disrespect for the Constitution of the Republic by the Salvadoran president.

Representatives of the Humanitarian Legal Aid indicated that they took advantage of the commemoration of the country's Independence Day to demand access to judicial independence for people arbitrarily captured.

The organization commented that they are aware of more than 1,500 cases of prisoners who are innocent.

For his part, the general secretary of the Police Workers Movement (PNC) stated that there is a great setback in terms of citizens' freedoms.

The representative of the police union pointed out that during the presidency of Nayib Bukele the vital rights of citizens have been violated and warned that security agencies have detained people who have no ties to gang groups.

At least six social organizations have documented 5,400 complaints from people who have suffered alleged violations of their rights in the context of the state of emergency.

Authorized by the Supreme Court, although the Constitution prohibits re-election, Bukele announced a year ago that he will seek a second term in the elections, supported by the supposed success of the war against gangs.

Under the emergency regime, which allows arrests without a court order, the government has imprisoned some 72,600 suspected gang members. According to authorities, some 7,000 innocent people have been released.