Salvadorean lawyer and human rights leader Ruth LĂłpez. Photo: EFE/file photo.
On Monday, El Salvador’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) filed a formal charge against Ruth Eleonora LĂłpez, attorney and legal director of the Cristosal Human Rights Foundation.
The charge was filed before the 12th Court of Peace of San Salvador, following the arbitrary arrest of LĂłpez on May 18 for alleged involvement “in the theft of funds from state coffers” while serving as an assistant to former official Eugenio Chicas.
At that time, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) exposed it on social media. Since then, the lawyer remains in provisional detention at the Traffic Division of the National Civil Police (PNC).
SegĂşn informaciĂłn publicada por @LPGJudicial , la abogada está siendo juzgada Ăşnicamente por el delito de enriquecimiento ilĂcito, y no por peculado, como lo habĂa informado inicialmente la FiscalĂa.
— El Faro (@_elfaro_) June 3, 2025
However, sources close to the case confirm that the alleged crime was changed to illicit enrichment, thus eliminating the initial charge of embezzlement.
The case was declared completely confidential, which prevents the media from accessing the prosecution’s arguments and limits the lawyers’ communication.
The hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 4, at 10 a.m. local time in the 12th Court of Peace. In this same case, Eugenio Chicas, arrested in February for illicit enrichment amounting to an estimated $202,557.51 and currently in the “La Occidental” prison in Santa Ana, will also be charged with embezzlement, although the change in the offense for LĂłpez Alfaro creates uncertainty about his prosecution.
Simultaneously, Cristosal and Ruth LĂłpez’s family have filed a habeas corpus petition before the Constitutional Court, denouncing the “arbitrary arrest” of the lawyer, who was detained without a warrant and deceived by PNC agents.
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Cristosal also noted that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) did not file the request within the first 72 hours of her arrest, as required by the Constitution for common crimes, and that Ruth LĂłpez did not have “free and private communication with a legal team.”
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SH
