HRW Condemns El Salvador's Mass Trials for Due Process Violations

Human Rights Watch criticizes El Salvador's mass trials convicting hundreds without proper defense.

Since early 2026, El Salvador's courts have held mass trials convicting hundreds of individuals simultaneously amid the government's crackdown on gang violence launched under a state of emergency declared in March 2022. These trials often proceed with minimal opportunity for defendants to present any defense.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised alarms after interviewing 15 defense lawyers and reviewing four indictments covering over 600 defendants, plus one judicial decision sentencing more than 120 people. The organization found that these trials rely heavily on uncorroborated evidence and do not allow meaningful contesting of charges. As HRW's Americas Director Juanita Goebertus stated, "these hearings are designed to produce guilty verdicts, not to weigh evidence under due process."

Prosecutors have sought the harshest penalties, including maximum sentences and civil damages totaling $9 million in mass proceedings involving 485 alleged MS-13 gang members, which concluded in July 2026. This aggressive judicial approach follows mass arrests with limited investigation, as noted by HRW Americas Deputy Director Juan Pappier: "first, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defense."

The state of emergency has resulted in the detention of over 92,000 individuals, accompanied by reports documenting more than 6,000 abuses and at least 547 deaths while in custody during this period, highlighting grave human rights concerns during the ongoing crackdown.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and HRW, continue to criticize these mass trials for diminishing judicial independence and compromising fundamental rights, which may have implications for international legal standards and monitoring.