On Monday May 30th, twenty Salvadoran defendants, including four former members of the High Command of the Salvadoran Armed Forces, were indicted by a Spanish judge for their involvement in the brutal murder of six Jesuit priests and their two women companions, in November of 1989 in El Salvador. WOLA staff and board members had worked closely with several of the Jesuits who were killed, and WOLA has followed developments in the case ever since. This indictment is a significant step forward in bringing to justice those who were involved in the decision to kill the priests. We congratulate the attorneys of the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and of the Spanish Association for Human Rights for their work on the case. Click here to see the press release issued by the CJA.
These indictments will challenge the Salvadoran government, the Salvadoran military, and Salvadoran society to face squarely the legacy of the war and the brutal human rights abuses committed and to move toward justice not only for the Jesuits, but for the thousands of less well-known men and women who died in the course of the conflict.
For further information please contact Kristel Mucino, communications coordinator, 202-797-2171 or kmucino@wola.org.
