El Salvador’s Congress has approved group trials for the tens of thousands of people arrested during President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on criminal gangs, which has given the country one of the world’s highest incarceration rates.
Wednesday’s legislation will allow prosecutors to simultaneously try hundreds of people alleged to be part of the same criminal group or from the same area of the Central American country.
El Salvador has been under a state of emergency for 16 months, sparking the arrest of more than 71,900 alleged gang members. Some 6,000 people have been released, official data show.
Legislators from Bukele’s New Ideas party, which has a majority in Congress, said the measure seeks to boost order and efficiency. It passed by 67 votes in favour and six against.
Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro says up to 900 defendants from the same group could be prosecuted at a time.
Post from www.aljazeera.com rnrn