Lawyers for Lawyers sent a letter to the authorities in El Salvador urging the government to immediately and effectively implement the precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in favor of lawyers Ruth Eleonora López and Enrique Anaya.
Read the original letter in Spanish here. The English translation of the letter follows:
Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) is an independent and non-political foundation that seeks to promote the proper functioning of the rule of law by defending the freedom and independence of the legal profession. We support lawyers around the world who face reprisals, undue interference, or unreasonable restrictions in the exercise of their legitimate activities. In 2013, L4L obtained Special Consultative Status before the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
We address you to request the immediate and effective compliance with precautionary measures No. 667-25 and No. 929-25 issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on September 22, 2025, in favor of lawyers Ruth Eleonora López and Enrique Anaya. The IACHR determined that both legal professionals are in a situation of serious risk and urgency, facing the threat of irreparable harm to their rights to life, personal integrity, and health.
These measures respond to alarming events that raise serious international concern:
- Ruth Eleonora López, constitutional lawyer and Director of the Anti-Corruption and Justice Unit of Cristosal, was arrested on May 18, 2025, accused of alleged illicit enrichment. For two days her whereabouts were unknown, amounting to an enforced disappearance.[1] Despite a court order requiring her to remain in a police station for health reasons, on July 4 she was transferred to a prison, where she remains incommunicado, without access to her defense or family members.
- Enrique Anaya, constitutional lawyer, was detained on June 7, 2025, accused of money laundering, shortly after publicly expressing criticism of government measures and of the detention of lawyer López. His legal team has not been able to communicate with him for several weeks. This situation is particularly concerning given that the lawyer suffers from a medical condition requiring treatment, with no public information available as to whether he is receiving the necessary care.
These detentions, in addition to violating basic guarantees of due process —including the imposition of pretrial detention without sufficient grounds, prolonged incommunicado detention, and the lack of effective access to legal defense— appear to constitute direct reprisals against the practice of law and freedom of expression.[2] In its decision, the IACHR took into account that on July 30, 2025, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers expressed concern over the detention of Ruth Eleonora López, noting that she had been criminalized in retaliation for her work as a lawyer and human rights defender.[3]
It should be recalled that El Salvador, as a State party to the American Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has the international obligation to guarantee the rights to liberty, personal security, due process, and access to justice. Likewise, the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (principles 16, 18, and 23) establish the duty of States to ensure that lawyers can perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, or interference, and that lawyers have the right to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, particularly to participate in public discussions concerning law, the administration of justice, and the promotion and protection of human rights.
In this context, Lawyers for Lawyers makes an urgent call to the Government of El Salvador to take, without delay, the following measures:
- Immediately and effectively comply with the precautionary measures ordered by the IACHR, guaranteeing the protection of the rights to life, personal integrity, and health of lawyers López and Anaya. In particular: end immediately the situation of prolonged incommunicado detention; guarantee their physical and mental well-being; and ensure timely access to their legal representatives, relatives, and appropriate medical treatment.
- Fully respect the right to due process in all legal proceedings, ensuring that any charges are based on a clear, legitimate legal basis in accordance with international standards.
- Immediately cease all forms of harassment, intimidation, and criminalization against lawyers in El Salvador, recognizing their essential role in defending the rule of law and human rights.
- Respect and effectively implement the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, as well as El Salvador’s obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ensuring that all legal professionals can practice their work independently, free from reprisals, and in conditions of safety.
Lawyers for Lawyers will continue to closely monitor the situation of lawyers in El Salvador. We thank you for your attention and hope that all appropriate measures will be taken to guarantee the protection of legal professionals in the country.
[1] El Salvador: UN experts demand protection for Ruth López after enforced disappearance | OHCHR
[2] Concern over the detention of Ruth Eleonora López and Alejandro Henríquez amid escalating intimidation of lawyers in El Salvador – Lawyers for Lawyers
[3] Margaret Satterthwaite [@SRjudgeslawyers]
