The Salvadoran Supreme Court Favors Impunity

This past Wednesday, the 24th of August, ten magistrates of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the nine soldiers involved in the assassination of Jesuit priests and two of their staff members. A Spanish judge required that the soldiers be tried as the primary perpetrators of these crimes, which have shaken the Salvadoran and international communities. The ruling granted the soldiers unrestricted freedom and makes clear that INTERPOL can not capture them without an order from the highest court of El Salvador.

The Court argued that INTERPOL’s red alert is only to locate suspects and does not involve an order of capture for the purpose of extradition. In addition, the Court mentioned that it had not received any official requests on the part of the Spanish government to capture and extradite the suspected soldiers, thus the Court granted them unrestricted freedom, ignoring international conventions signed by El Salvador. Once again, victims of crimes against humanity – such as the assassination of Monsignor Romero, the Jesuit priests, the El Mozote and El Sumpul massacres, and the thousands of “disappeared” during the armed conflict (El Salvador’s Civil War, 1980-1992) – in addition to their families, have been deprived of their right to fair and full justice.

It is impossible to forgive and to forget without knowing the truth about what has happened. It has been twenty years since the Jesuit priests’ case was first heard in Salvadoran courts, but the legal procedure has been heavily tampered with and has left many doubts, in addition to failing to try the masterminds behind the crimes – even in the wake of the Spanish courts’ search for justice. Instead, those responsible for executing the law and justice in our country have yet again voted in favor of the criminals without regard to international law and treaties

SHARE El Salvador wishes to express our solidarity with the victims and their families and make clear our commitment of mutual accompaniment in the fight for truth, justice, and reparations for victims. It is important to keep in mind that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations and that at any point we could have public officials that exercise their power according to the law and not at the behest of political interests and powerful special interest groups.

We make an appeal to the community to act in solidarity and express your repudiation and condemnation of the Court’s ruling by demanding that the government of President Funes honor its commitment to govern in favor of the poorest and most vulnerable. It is within these populations that we find the families of the thousands of assassinated and “disappeared” Salvadorans, who have spent years fighting for justice in each case. No democracy is in danger because the victims demand to know the truth, but it is very troubling that when brought to court, those that have caused such horror, mourning, and pain for the Salvadoran population are let free in a judicially backwards way.

Peace and reconciliation within a society are founded upon truth, justice, and reparations.

WE SAY NO TO IMPUNITY. YES TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE.