Calls Grow for the Immediate Release of Salvadoran Anti-Corruption Lawyer Ruth López

Author: Peter Clarkin, MA

June 1, 2026

HRRC calls for the immediate release of human rights lawyer Ruth López. López has been held by Salvadoran authorities for over a year without a legitimate trial or a full disclosure of the case against her. She must be released and allowed to continue her work in exposing corruption and protecting human rights within El Salvador.

Human rights defender Ruth López has been illegally imprisoned in El Salvador for over a year. [Image credit: https://x.com/UN_SPExperts/status/2056399574361682237/photo/1]

On May 18, 2025, human rights defender Ruth López was unjustly arrested at her home in San Salvador and has remained imprisoned ever since. Allegedly, Salvadoran authorities are holding López in conditions both physically and psychologically harmful, resulting in urgent calls for her immediate release. 

López, the head of the Anti-Corruption Unit at Cristosal, an organisation that defends human rights throughout Central America, appears to have been targeted by authorities because of work published criticising the government. López has been critical of human rights violations committed by the government of President Nayib Bukele. She has also been instrumental in exposing corruption that exists within the highest levels of his administration. 

Perhaps López’s most high-profile campaign was when she defended the rights of 200 US deportees who had been transported from the United States to one of El Salvador’s mega prisons. The $4.7 million deal with the United States left countless families completely unaware of what happened to their family members. Due to the illegality of their imprisonment, López filed habeas corpus petitions for more than 70 individuals; it was not long after this act of resistance that López was imprisoned. 

López has been held without trial for over a year, and any contact with her family or her lawyers has been controlled tightly by the authorities. Furthermore, any evidence that exists in the case against López has not been presented in an open court, with the judge failing to provide a reason into why López’s case has been kept under judicial seal.

In 2024, López was named as one of the 100 most influential women in the world by the BBC, and her removal from the community in which she had so much influence has been felt by many. However, the government crackdown has not only affected López: In the five-month period between May and October 2025, 140 human rights defenders and journalists have been forced to flee the country or else face the risk of forced imprisonment. 

Human rights organisations have also filed a petition with the U.S. Congress to put pressure on the government. Salvadoran authorities must adhere to international human rights law and provide protection for those working to expose human rights abuses.. 

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Glossary

• Act of resistance — an action taken to oppose or fight against something, often a government, policy, or injustice

• Administration — the group of people who manage or direct a government or organisation

• Anti-Corruption — actions, laws, or policies intended to prevent dishonest or illegal behaviour, especially by people in power

• Arrested — taken by the police into custody because they are believed to have committed a crime

• Corruption — illegal, dishonest, or unethical behaviour, especially by people in positions of authority

• Crackdown — strong action taken by authorities to stop particular activities or behaviour

• Deportees — people who have been forced to leave a country by official order

• Disclosure — the act of making information known or public 

• Flee — to leave a place quickly because of danger or fear

• Habeas corpus — a legal principle that allows a person to challenge unlawful detention or imprisonment before a court

• Judicial seal — an official mark or stamp used by a court or judge to show that a document is legally authorised or approved

• Legitimate — lawful, reasonable, or acceptable according to rules or standards

• Mega prisons — extremely large prisons designed to hold very high numbers of prisoners

• Open court — a court proceeding that is held publicly and may be attended by members of the public

• Petition — a formal written request made to a person, organisation, or court asking for action to be taken 

• Unjustly — in a way that is unfair or morally wrong

• Violations — actions that break laws, rules, agreements, or rights

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References

1. https://4genderjustice.org/one-year-after-the-arbitrary-detention-of-ruth-lopez-statement-by-the-women-human-rights-defenders-international-coalition-whrdic/

2. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/05/el-salvador-tras-un-ano-de-detencion-y-violaciones-de-sus-derechos-las-autoridades-deben-liberar-de-inmediato-a-ruth-lopez/

3. https://www.sbsun.com/2026/05/21/americans-should-demand-the-release-of-jailed-salvadoran-lawyer-ruth-lopez/

4. https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/18/el-salvador-human-rights-lawyer-still-in-jail-one-year-on

5. https://cristosal.org/

6. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-4f79d09b-655a-42f8-82b4-9b2ecebab611

7. https://www.ocregister.com/2026/05/21/americans-should-demand-the-release-of-jailed-salvadoran-lawyer-ruth-lopez/

8. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/free-ruth-lopez