El Salvador: Information on the escape of three FMLN members from Gotera prison in January 1995 (follow-up to Response to Information Request SLV28057.E of 17 October 1997)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV28239.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Information on the escape of three FMLN members from Gotera prison in January 1995 (follow-up to Response to Information Request SLV28057.E of 17 October 1997), 1 October 1997, SLV28239.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abc194.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The information that follows was provided during a 27 October 1997 telephone interview with the Human Rights Commission of El Salvador (CDHES), whose staff consulted the CDHES archives, the San Salvador public library's periodical holdings, and penal authorities in San Francisco Gotera for this information request.
There was no escape of prisoners from the Gotera prison in January 1995. The only escape from that prison in recent years took place on 6 July 1994 at 4:30 a.m.. On that occasion, three inmates escaped: Neftali Escamilla Huezo, Juan Francisco Cabrera Osorio and Gervasio Garcia Garcia. All three were being held in a special area of the prison holding men who faced lengthy sentences for serious crimes; none is or ever was affiliated with the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Neftali Escamilla Huezo was recaptured in Soyapango while committing new crimes, and has sentences pending. The other two inmates have not yet been recaptured yet and their whereabouts remain unknown. One of them, Juan Francisco Cabrera Osorio, was serving the maximum possible sentence of 30 years, while Gervasio Garcia Garcia had a lengthy sentence pending at the time of his escape.
The source added that other individual escapes of inmates from Gotera prison have occurred in recent years, when inmates were temporarily staying at a hospital or other location outside the prison. However, there is no other known recent escape of prisoners from the Gotera prison facilities itself.
Finally, the source stated that there are no provisions for life sentences in the judicial system and that there are presently no political prisoners in El Salvador. A broad amnesty passed after the peace agreements earlier this decade covered all members of the FM[LN and the armed forces who were serving or facing sentences for crimes committed during the armed conflict. The source added that there have been numerous cases in El Salvador and abroad of Salvadoreans claiming membership in the armed forces or the FMLN in an attempt to obtain asylum and/or avoid imprisonment.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Human Rights Commission of El Salvador (CDHES), El Salvador. 27 October 1997. Telephone interview with representative.
