NEW YORK (Aug. 18, 2026) — Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and Perseus Strategies submitted a complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Salvadoran lawyers Ruth López and Enrique Anaya, urging the body to declare their detention arbitrary and in violation of international law. López and Anaya were arrested in 2025 and have been held in prolonged pretrial detention for over one year without a trial date, after exposing government corruption and publicly criticizing the Bukele regime. In the complaint, HRF and Perseus Strategies argue that the financial charges brought against both are politically motivated.
Ruth López is a prominent Salvadoran human rights lawyer, anti-corruption advocate, and professor. She was the legal chief of the Anti-Corruption and Justice Unit at the Cristosal Foundation, where she filed legal complaints exposing government abuses of power. In 2024, the BBC named her one of the 100 most influential women in the world, and in 2025 she received the American Bar Association’s International Human Rights Award. The regime has frequently targeted her for her work, even identifying her as a “person of interest” and “part of the opposition’s ideological apparatus as an anti-corruption activist.”
López was arrested on May 18, 2025, after officers lured her from her home with a false claim of a car accident. Officials initially told her she was under investigation for embezzlement, yet provided no concrete evidence to support the claim. The charge was later changed to illicit enrichment, again without any concrete evidence. Officials then sealed the proceedings to avoid public scrutiny, confirming that the charges are pretextual and politically motivated. She remains in pretrial detention at Izalco prison, without a trial date. Her deteriorating health remains a critical concern, yet officials have withheld information from López, her family, and her lawyers.
Enrique Anaya is a Salvadoran constitutional lawyer, professor, and activist with over 30 years of experience advocating for judicial independence, constitutional reform, and the rule of law. He was arrested on June 7, 2025, just days after criticizing the government on television, defending López on social media, and publicly denouncing her arrest and the regime’s abuse of power. He was targeted with the pretextual and politically motivated charge of money and asset laundering. As with López, officials sealed the proceedings to avoid public scrutiny. Anaya remains in pretrial detention at La Occidental Penitentiary in Santa Ana, without a trial date.
Our dear colleague Ruth López, who is internationally recognized for her fight against corruption, and the courageous constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya are two of the most emblematic cases of the arbitrary and illegal detentions occurring in El Salvador, affecting dozens of Salvadoran families. As an organization, we have documented 245 political prisoner cases, 86 of whom remain in prison, said Director of the Cristosal Foundation Noah Bullock.
El Salvador has weaponized its emergency powers under a national state of exception to strip dissidents of due process protections. Originally declared in 2022 to combat gang violence, the state of exception has been used by the regime to, among other things, suspend the constitutional requirement that detainees be presented before a judge within 72 hours and justify prolonged pretrial detention, sealed proceedings, and restricted access to counsel.
The financial crimes at issue in these cases have no connection to gang violence and should not even fall under the state of exception, said HRF International Legal Associate Caitlin Triplett. This situation demonstrates how Bukele has manipulated the country’s temporary emergency powers into a tool of repression, enabling the arbitrary detention of lawyers, activists, and regime opponents.
Jared Genser, Managing Director of Perseus Strategies and international counsel for López, explained: “Ruth has long been a leading voice for democracy and human rights in El Salvador. Her detention is part of a larger attempt to silence those who dare to expose corruption and hold the government accountable. It is an honor and extraordinary responsibility to represent Ruth and advocate for her immediate release.”
HRF and Perseus Strategies call on the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to investigate the cases of López and Anaya, issue an opinion declaring their detention arbitrary and in violation of international law, and request that El Salvador take immediate steps to guarantee their liberty and afford them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.
