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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Prisoners
Face Deplorable Jail Conditions After Judge Allows Terrorism Charges to Move
Forward<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>CISPES Update<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>July 17, 2007<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><img width=343
height=215 id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.jpg@01C7C892.BA2006F0"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i><font size=2
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-style:italic'>Salvadoran
organizations protest outside the womens’ prison in Illopango<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On July 7, Judge Ana Lucila Fuentes de Paz of the Special Tribunal of
San Salvador granted the government prosecutor’s request and decided to
send 13 of the 14 people charged with terrorism to 90 days of
“preventative imprisonment.” The prisoners were arrested on
July <st1:metricconverter ProductID="2 in" w:st="on">2 in</st1:metricconverter>
a brutal police and military attack on a peaceful protest against the
privatization of water in Suchitoto. At this time, the prisoners
have not been indicted under any specific section of the anti-terrorism law,
but are being held under charges of terrorism in general. One of
the prisoners, Facundo Dolores Garcia was released on July 13 as the judge
declared that there is no evidence that links him to acts of terrorism. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>One of the greatest concerns of family, friends, and the broader
movement right now is the conditions in which the prisoners are being held
captive, particularly the six female prisoners who are being held in deplorable
prison conditions, sleeping on the floor of the prison without so much as a
sheet, and failing to receive needed medical attention. According to a group of
FMLN deputies who was able to visit the prisoners they are suffering from
infections, rashes, lice, and other afflictions due to the unhygienic and
unsanitary conditions in the prison. Although most prisoners are allowed to
receive visits from family members, the women political prisoners have been
denied this right as well as the food and other items their families have tried
to give them. The women have also received threats from prison employees.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The FMLN delegation to the prison was able to gain a few concessions
for the women, such as the ability to relocate to a slightly more comfortable
part of the jail during the day. This visit highlights the coordinated and
unified response of the FMLN and the social movement in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> to this situation.
There has been extensive collaboration to monitor the status of the case, the
conditions of the prisoners, and exert pressure on the government to release
the prisoners. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Families of the prisoners have organized demonstrations and
mobilizations in solidarity with their relatives, to denounce the prison
conditions and to demand their immediate release. The Families of the Political
Prisoners Committee held a demonstration on Saturday outside the women’s
prison to denounce governmental repression. Edgar Mejia, whose wife
Beatriz Nuila is one of the prisoners, stated this situation is “evidence
that once more in this country we are traveling down a dangerous road of
repression and human rights violations<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>.</span></font>”
This committee is preparing a hunger strike outside the prison to accompany the
political prisoner and create further pressure for their release. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Governmental response<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Last week the new Salvadoran Human Rights Ombudsman Oscar Luna called
for revisions to the anti-terrorism law stating that “the application of
the anti<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>-</span></font>terrorism law
at this time does not seem to me to be the most adequate given the
actions.” In response to his statements and to international
pressure, President Saca announced his supposed openness to a revision of the
anti-terrorism law, saying, “I think that…the law can be improved
to more clearly define terrorism.” However, this lack of clarity is
exactly what the government is utilizing to hold the prisoners as
“terrorists” without charging them with any specific violation of
the law. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Saca has hurriedly asked ARENA deputies in the National Assembly to
pass two reforms to the penal code, which would drastically increment jail time
for “public disorder”. Currently, the jail time for such
offenses is 6 months to 2 years, while Saca wants the assembly to increase it
to 8-15 years. Cynically, ARENA officials are now stating there must be a
separation between terrorist acts and acts of vandalism, likely because of
mounting national and international pressure for having 13 people unjustly
jailed for being “terrorists”. In response to this most
recent proposal of increased jail time, FMLN deputy Walter Duran said that
“from a technical perspective it is inadmissible to try to establish such
severe sentences. The President is showing that we are entering a time of
civil dictatorship, announcing that his government will continue to respond to
the increasing protest with more repression.” The <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Cambio Democratico</span></i> Party has also
criticized Saca’s desperate measures to silence social discontent,
expressing the reforms Saca wants to make to the penal code is simply his
inability to admit that the anti-terrorism charges are a major error on the
part of the government. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Solidarity Response<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Wednesday, July 11 CISPES and <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">U.S.-El</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Salvador Sister</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Cities</st1:PlaceType>
coordinated a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Charles Glazer, to
pressure the embassy to make a public statement about the violation of civil
and human rights around the terrorism charges. Ambassador Glazer himself
attended the meeting with two other embassy staff <font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>–</span></font> a<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'> </span></font>public affairs official and a political
affairs official in charge of the elaboration of the embassy’s human
rights reports. Despite CISPES members demonstrating media documentation
of U<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>.</span></font>S<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>.</span></font> Embassy intervention in sovereign matters
– such as former Ambassador Barclay urging assembly approval of a wire
tapping law and applauding the passage of the anti-terrorism law – Glazer
refused to make a public statement about the political prisoners and the
dangers of conflating protest with terrorism. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Meanwhile, in the U.S. CISPES is working with other solidarity
organizations – <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Sister</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Cities</st1:PlaceType>, the SHARE Foundation, and Voices on the
Border, among others – to encourage U.S. Congressional Representatives to
write a “Dear Colleague” letter expressing deep concern for the
political prisoners and the violations of the freedom of speech and right to
protest in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
There will also be a protest action at the Salvadoran Consulate in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Boston</st1:City></st1:place> on July 30.
For more information on how to support the campaign to release the political
prisoners, see<font color=green><span style='color:green'> <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/">www.cispes.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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