Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez described the judicial process facing the former mayor of San Salvador as “a kind of public assassination with which this man (Ernesto Mushond)’s honor was not respected”. , He is charged with tax evasion or breach of feelings and obligations.

This, the cardinal clarified at a press conference this Sunday that a convict is different from a convicted prisoner and pointed out that “there is cruelty of the people of the state against him.”

“The manner in which this case was handled was very sad. Although he was guilty, he deserved respectable treatment. We did not see it. We have seen the atrocities against him by the people of the state. I am very sorry, very sad that this is not being conducted by the people,” the religious leader said.

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He explained that even if he is later found guilty, he has a right to respect. The cardinal believed that these measures were not acceptable from any point of view, and regretted that this was language that appeared to be “normal.”

“For now, he’s a defendant, he’s a criminal, that’s what he’s publicly called,” he said, and in that sense “we should not admit it is right, we think we should change it to express ourselves to people who do not think they are one.”

What does the human rights defender think?

Celia Metrono is a human rights defender who, in that view, agrees with the Cardinal’s statements.

“I share the views expressed by Cardinal Rosa Chavez on the strict adherence to the human rights of the people. The treatment should not be used against any person, regardless of whether the person is Ernesto Mushond or not,” Metrono said.

He further added that in this case, three human rights must be respected without hindrance. First, the right to due process and that which is to be investigated by an independent and impartial tribunal.

However, he pointed out that “the pressures exerted by the executive and the jurisdiction over the office of attorney and the Supreme Court make it very difficult for them to be respected and prosecuted for this person.” Area and Independent Court “.

The second step is to respect the assumption that he is innocent, which, in Metrono’s view, is now a public and media condemnation of Mushond.

Third, he pointed to an ongoing political process in this case. “This is a political retaliation. If there is evidence to convict this person or any other person who may be prosecuted against this person, the legal proceedings associated with it must be respected,” he concluded.

Judicial process of the former mayor

Former San Salvador Mayor Ernesto Mushond and two former employees of the San Salvador Mayor’s Office faced an initial investigation last Monday into the crime of acquiring tax breaks.

According to the prosecutor’s office, from June to December 2020, the mayor’s office withheld income tax from employees of the Directorate of Solid Waste, which will not be paid to the Ministry of Finance.

After more than four hours of trial, San Salvador’s Third Court of Peace has ordered the temporary arrest of Mushond and Fernando Heriberdo Portillo Linares.

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Defendant Francisco Jose Rivera Sacon said he ordered alternative measures to prevent custody: signing in a court of law every 15 days, leaving the country and not granting $ 5,000 bail.

In brief statements to the press, and after hearing the court’s ruling, Muizhond promised that he would go on a hunger strike.