Analysts agree that criminal authorities are acting outside the law for not obeying a court order

A criminal lawyer and human rights defender agreed that the authorities penal centers They are acting outside the law because they refuse to comply with the 3rd Criminal District’s decision obligating them to send the former mayor of San Salvador, Ernest Mueschund To house arrest with an electronic bracelet.

The criminal lawyer, Marcela Gallez, considered that it is not within the jurisdiction of the authorities of the penal centers to determine which judicial decisions they will comply with and which ones will not.

“The General Directorate of Punitive Centers is obliged to obey them because its function is limited to keeping the accused in pretrial detention and placing him in the criminal center, which is assisted by the principle of innocence, not evaluating procedural issues because that pertains to the authority,” Galias said.

And it considered that the criminal authorities commit the crime of restricting individual freedom without justification, in accordance with Article 291 of the Penal Code.

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Human rights defender Celia Medrano argued that court decisions must be followed and if there is no agreement, then resort to institutionally established legal mechanisms.

“Failure to comply with a decision of a competent court is an unconstitutional measure that must be observed and punished by a higher court and by authorities obligated to comply with the law,” he said.

“This dynamic, typical of states that respect the constitution and national and international systems, no longer exists as of May 1, 2021,” he added.

Although he says he neither shares his ideology nor sympathizes with Muyshondt, Medrano considers that “the right to due process and respect for the judiciary is clearly violated in this case.”

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He points out that “the current authorities are losing their credibility more and more, as the exploitation of laws and institutions to attack and insult those they consider opponents or critics is clear.”

He added that they “guarantee impunity for all those close to the current authority even if they are referred to as acts of corruption, organized crime and abuse of power on an equal footing or worse, as they are pursued without any guarantees and their rights are violated. Those who are not in their favour.”