On August 23 the campaign to free the Santa Marta and ADES water defenders celebrated a small victory as the judge of the lower court of Sensuntepeque ordered house arrest for the 5 community leaders who had been languishing in jail since January 11, under the horrific conditions of the Salvadorean penitentiary system.
After thirteen days of administrative delays, members of the Santa Marta community and ADES confirmed, during an August 5th press conference, that the community leaders are finally with their families and that they are generally in good spirits and happy to be home. Denis Muñoz, lead defense lawyer, also informed that the Attorney General´s office has not appealed the decision of the lower court. Had that been the case, their release could have been delayed for at least another month pending a desicion by the court of appeals.
The court order also required the detainees to be released into the hospital for medical evaluation, but the General Directorate of Correctional Centers of El Salvador failed to comply with the order, releasing them directly into their homes instead.
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To get update about the case, join an information session with members of the Santa marta Community and ADES.
Tuesday, September 12 – 2:00pm (El Salvador time)
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Previous to the ruling of the Sensuntepeque lower court, the Government of El Salvador had failed to respond to a request for information issued by the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights on the health status of the Santa Marta 5. The request was prompted by an application for precautionary measures on behalf of the detainees submitted by the Salvadorean legal organization Tutela Legal as concerns about their deteriorating health had mounted due to their advanced age and chronic health conditions that had been diagnosed before their detention.
The intervention of the IACHR added to concerns previously expressed by other multilateral institutions and high profile advocates, such as 18 representatives of the US Congress who urged Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to advocate on behalf of the Santa Marta 5, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, who in May urged the Salvadorean government to release the detainees, and over 250 international civil society organizations who demanded their release shortly after their detention.
NEED FOR CONTINUED SOLIDARITY BEYOND THE SANTA MARTA CASE
In the press release, members of the Santa Marta community and ADES also expressed their gratitude to all people, institutions, journalists, and national and international organizations that have supported the campaign to secure the freedom of the Santa Marta 5. At the same time, they asked the international community to continue its support to free the water defenders and also to keep El Salvador free from the threat of mining companies.
From the beginning, Salvadoran environmental organizations have argued that the detention of the Santa Marta and ADES water defenders had nothing to do with bringing justice to war victims, as the Salvadorean Attorney General claimed, but more as an act of intimidaton to demobilise organized communities of Cabañas. Since 2019, environmentalists have dennounced that the Salvadorean government is slowly taking steps to revert the 2017 mining ban.
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To get update about the case, join an information session with members of the Santa marta Community and ADES.
Selected readings:
- MONGABAY: International community calls for release of El Salvador antimining activists
- DAVID HILL: ‘This is why we need the eyes of the world on this case’, interview with John Cavanah.
- THE GUARDIAN: Salvadoran environmental defenders detained for decades-old crime
- THE PROGRESSIVE: The crime of fighting for a better life
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
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