Mass trial held at El Salvador jail
Tecoluca, EL SALVADOR—Hundreds of alleged Mara Salvatrucha gang members sat chained, shaved and mute as they were accused of murder and torture during a mass trial at El Salvador’s notorious CECOT jail, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters witnessed Thursday.
Seated in neat columns of plastic chairs in the prison’s main hall, some 220 defendants are accused of collectively carrying out more than 29,000 murders.
“We burned her genitals and buttocks” one witness said over the loudspeaker, testifying in a mass trial El Salvador’s president has compared to those of Nazi leaders at Nuremberg.
Among those on trial are about 20 alleged leaders and dozens of lieutenants, many with tattooed faces, heads, hands, and necks.
Some stared at journalists. All were dressed in white T-shirts and shorts.
Hundreds more defendants appeared remotely.
Human rights groups have criticized the mass trials, warning that innocent people would inevitably be caught up in the process.
According to the testimony, gang members tied many victims’ hands and took them to remote areas to kill them.
A phalanx of guards with full armor and riot shields watched over proceedings.
“It’s a horrifying account that makes your hair stand on end,” said a security agent.
