On May 18, 2025, Salvadoran lawyer Ruth López, who headed the Justice and Anti-Corruption Unit of the NGO Cristosal, was arrested by the National Civil Police.

The Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of El Salvador issued an arrest warrant against Ruth for the crime of embezzlement of public funds. Later, they changed it to illicit enrichment.

During the first days of her arrest, her family reported that she was incommunicado and without any possibility of dialogue with her legal representative.

Because of this, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued precautionary measures in favor of Ruth, requesting the Salvadoran State to respect her right to a defense.

Ruth López’s arrest occurred within a context of increasing repression of civic space and criminalization of human rights defenders in El Salvador. Therefore, her arrest is not an isolated incident.

Before López’s arrest, on May 13, 2025, environmental defender Alejandro Henríquez and evangelical pastor José Ángel Pérez were arrested while peacefully protesting alongside more than 300 families in El Triunfo (Santa Tecla) who were facing eviction.

At the last hearing, on October 29, the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador denied freedom with alternative measures for Alejandro and José Ángel, even though their lawyers presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate that both can continue the process while free.

The lack of transparency in both the process of Alejandro and José Ángel, as well as in the case of Ruth López, bears similarities to the scenario described by the United Nations as arbitrary detention.

On the other hand, international organizations such as Amnesty International have declared Ruth, Alejandro, and José Ángel as «prisoners of conscience,» considering that their detention is due to a critical exercise of power and not to crimes.

According to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Committee of Relatives of Political Prisoners and Persecuted Persons of El Salvador (COFAPPES), between 2022 and September 2025, at least 35 people were detained for political reasons in El Salvador.