GENEVA (5 November 2020) – The government of El Salvador must stop using the courts to attack opposition politicians and should not undermine court decisions, a UN expert said today.
“The executive branch of government must respect the independence of the judiciary and refrain from undermining its authority,” said Diego García-Sayán, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
“Judicial decisions must be carried out, not interpreted by other branches of government,” he said. “Courts also must not be discredited in the eyes of the public by using them as a weapon to attack members of opposition parties.”
The expert spoke in the wake of a long-standing conflict between the two branches of government, intensified by Tweets from President Nayib Bukele attempting to put pressure on the judiciary to speed up trials against opposition figures.