A Salvadoran court on Wednesday convicted environmental lawyer Alejandro Henriquez and evangelical Pastor Jose Angel Perez of "aggressive resistance" and "public disorder" for a May protest outside President Nayib Bukele’s home and sentenced them to three years each, while granting conditional release. The pair, detained since May, must follow conduct rules, refrain from street protests and secure judicial permission to travel abroad. Amnesty International said they should never have been jailed, and rights groups allege Bukele has used a 2022 state of emergency to silence critics.
Salvadoran Lawyer and Pastor Sentenced to Three Years, Granted Conditional Release After Protest Outside Bukele’s Home
Salvadoran environmental lawyer Alejandro Henriquez was granted a conditional release after months of detention (Rudy QUIROZ)(Rudy QUIROZ/AFP/AFP)
A Salvadoran court on Wednesday convicted an environmental lawyer and a community leader of participating in a May demonstration outside President Nayib Bukele’s residence and sentenced each to three years in prison, while granting them conditional release.
Lawyer Alejandro Henriquez and evangelical Pastor Jose Angel Perez had been held since the May protest, in which demonstrators urged Bukele to prevent the eviction of members of a peasant cooperative from privately owned land. The court in Santa Tecla, about 10 kilometres (six miles) west of the capital, San Salvador, found them guilty of “aggressive resistance” and “public disorder.”
Terms of Release
Under the terms of their conditional release, Henriquez and Perez must follow specified rules of conduct, refrain from participating in street protests and obtain judicial authorization before travelling abroad. The court order did not specify whether the three-year sentences would be suspended permanently or converted to other penalties if conditions are breached.
Response From Rights Groups
Amnesty International welcomed the release but said the two “should never have been deprived of their liberty or subjected to criminal proceedings for exercising their right to peaceful protest.”
Human rights organizations have accused President Bukele of using a state of emergency — imposed in 2022 as part of a broad crackdown on powerful gangs — to silence critics and curb dissent. Bukele’s hardline approach to gang violence has earned praise from U.S. President Donald Trump, who described him as a model for Latin America.
The convictions and conditional release highlight ongoing tensions in El Salvador over security measures, land disputes and limits on public protest, and they have renewed debate about the balance between public order and civil liberties.
