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Human RightsEl Salvador

El Salvador frees woman jailed after miscarriage

February 10, 2022

Elsy was released after serving a decade of her 30-year sentence for aggravated homicide. She is one of dozens of women punished under El Salvador's harsh anti-abortion laws.

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Elsy poses for a picture after being released from jail
Elsy spent a decade behind bars for alleged aggravated homicide after suffering a miscarriageImage: via REUTERS

Authorities in El Salvador on Wednesday released a woman who had served 10 years of a 30-year sentence for aggravated homicide after suffering an obstetric emergency. She had been accused of aborting her pregnancy.

Elsy, whose last name was not disclosed for privacy reasons, had suffered a miscarriage in June 2011 while she was working as a domestic worker, according to local nonprofit Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion (ACDATEE).

The local rights group said she was immediately arrested and charged with aggravated homicide shortly after.

Abortion, under any circumstances, is banned in El Salvador. This includes cases of rape, incest, or when the woman's health is in danger. The country has also criminally prosecuted 181 women who suffered obstetric emergencies.

Rights group alleges inconsistencies 

ACDATEE released a photo of Elsy after she was released from prison. The group said that her original court case had been full of irregularities and without a presumption of innocence.

"We celebrate Elsy's release after 10 years. Her erroneous 30-year sentence for aggravated homicide is over. We must continue to fight tirelessly to free those who remain deprived of liberty," the nonprofit’s president, Morena Herrera, said in a statement.

"[Elsy] was separated from her son, who only had her. Now, more than 10 years later, she will be able to reunite with him and her family," the organization said.

Miscarriages of justice

More women freed 

Elsy has become the fifth woman released before the completion of her sentence since December last year.

On December 23, El Salvador released three women who had been imprisoned on similar charges and a fourth on January 17.

Since 2009, Herrera's organization has successfully secured the release of 61 of the 181 women jailed on similar charges over the last 20 years.

In November, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights said that El Salvador had violated the rights of a woman who died in prison while serving a 30-year sentence for allegedly breaching the abortion laws.

see/fb (AP, AFP, Reuters)