El Salvador: Information on telephone tapping of members of the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador, including purpose, duration, and those responsible for the tapping; whether there have been any charges and convictions against those involved; whether the Electricity and Telecommunications Agency was ivolved in such surveillance (2010-2013)

Sources report that in July 2012, the then President of the Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia, CSJ) of El Salvador, José Belarmino Jaime [who was also President of the Constitutional Chamber (Sala de lo Constitucional) of the CSJ (El Salvador n.d.)], alleged that he had been the object of surveillance by members of the State Intelligence Agency (Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado, OIE) since 2010 (Instituto CEMUJER et al. 29 Oct. 2013, para. 21; El Mundo 5 July 2012). Another magistrate of the Constitutional Chamber, Florentín Meléndez, also alleged [in August 2012 (Instituto CEMUJER et al. 29 Oct. 2013, para. 25)] being the object of surveillance by the OIE (Elsalvador.com 17 Aug. 2012; Instituto CEMUJER et al. 29 Oct. 2013, para. 25). The OIE is the national intelligence agency; it is under the authority of the president of El Salvador (El Salvador 2001, Art. 4). The other magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber for the period 2009-2012 were José Néstor Mauricio Castaneda Soto, Edward Sidney Blanco, and Rodolfo Ernesto González Bonilla (El Salvador n.d.).

Belarmino Jaime alleged that his telephone calls and those of other magistrates of the CSJ had been intercepted by the OIE (La Prensa Gráfica 17 Aug. 2012; La Página 18 Aug. 2012). He also alleged that these magistrates and himself had been followed by vehicles registered to the OIE (ibid. 5 July 2012; Elsalvador.com 17 Aug. 2012). Belarmino Jaime stated that the eavesdropping of communications was [translation] "nothing new" under Mauricio Funes' presidency (ibid.; La Página 18 Aug. 2012) and that he had denounced this surveillance in the past (ibid.).

According to sources, Belarmino Jaime said [on 17 July 2013 (La Prensa Gráfica 18 July 2013)] that [translation] "sometimes, we [members of the Constitutional Chamber of the CSJ] talk over the phone about very confidential issues and, moments later, they already know the content of these conversations. The only explanation is that our telephones are tapped" (La Prensa Gráfica 18 July 2013; Diario1 16 Oct. 2013).

Sources indicate that, once Belarmino Jaime learned about the surveillance, he requested a meeting with President Funes (La Página 18 Aug. 2012; La Prensa Gráfica 18 Aug. 2012). The president told him that [translation] "he had nothing to do with [the surveillance]" (ibid.; La Página 18 Aug. 2012). According to an August 2012 article by La Página, a San Salvador-based news website, President Funes stated that he was not in a position to order the OIE to monitor people (ibid.). Also in August 2012, La Prensa Gráfica, a San Salvador-based newspaper, quoted President Funes as saying that the Office of the president does not have the technological equipment to eavesdrop communications (La Prensa Gráfica 18 Aug. 2012). A July 2013 article by La Prensa Gráfica quotes the Director of the National Police (Policía Nacional Civil, PNC) as stating that the PNC [translation] "'has nothing to do' in the alleged eavesdropping of telephone conversations of magistrates [of the Constitutional Chamber of the CSJ]" (ibid. 18 July 2013). According to him, the PNC does not have the equipment to carry out eavesdropping of communications (ibid.).

Sources indicate that President Funes deemed the 2012 accusations [translation] "'foolish'" (La Página 18 Aug. 2012; Instituto CEMUJER et al. 29 Oct. 2013, para. 25). Sources quote President Funes as saying that the July 2013 accusations made by CSJ magistrates were symptomatic of their [translation] "'paranoia'" and that they thought that "everybody is against them and wants to monitor them, that deputies want to relieve them from their positions, that the President is against them" (ibid., para. 40; Diario1 16 Oct. 2013). La Página quotes Belarmino Jaime as saying that he had not filed an official complaint and that it was the duty of the Attorney General (Fiscalía General de la República) to investigate this situation (18 Aug. 2012). Information on whether the Attorney General investigated the CSJ magistrates' accusations could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

La Prensa Gráfica cites Constitutional Chamber magistrates as saying that they are being [translation] "politically persecuted" due to some government organs' "dissatisfaction" with their rulings (La Prensa Gráfica 18 July 2013). Another article by La Prensa Gráfica quotes magistrate Meléndez as saying that such eavesdropping of communications occurs when the Constitutional Chamber of the CSJ is getting ready to issue a ruling (ibid. 18 Aug. 2012). A report produced by the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA), a think-tank based in Washington, DC that conducts research on political and democratic changes in Latin America (CDA n.d.), notes that four magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber of the CSJ, out of five magistrates, "had consistently issued controversial rulings that were lauded by many as democratic achievements, but criticized by others as overstepping the authority of the [Constitutional] Chamber" (ibid. July 2012, 2). An editorial piece by the Central American University "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA) similarly states that the Constitutional Chamber's rulings [translation] "have affected the main powers of the country, which had been twisting the laws for their own benefit" (UCA 2 July 2012). Some of the rulings by the Constitutional Chamber include the following:

In an August 2010 ruling, the Constitutional Chamber endorsed the participation of independent candidates (Elsalvador.com 8 July 2012; Instituto CEMUJER et al. 29 Oct. 2013, para. 1) for the 2012 legislative and municipal elections (ibid.).

In another August 2010 ruling, the Constitutional Chamber declared unconstitutional a [translation] "secret fund" that was managed by the Office of the president for discretional use (El Faro 25 Aug. 2010; La Página 25 Aug. 2010).

A June 2012 ruling stated that the appointment of Supreme Court judges by the National Assembly in 2006 and 2012 was "unconstitutional" (CDA July 2012, 2; Instituto CEMUJER et al. 29 Oct. 2013, para. 12-13), as an elected legislature cannot appoint the renewal of Supreme Court judges twice (ibid.).

Information on the involvement of the Salvadorean Electricity and Telecommunications Agency (Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones, SIGET) [1] in the surveillance of CSJ magistrates could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] The SIGET is a [translation] "not-for-profit autonomous agency" that regulates electricity and telecommunications in El Salvador (El Salvador 26 Oct. 2009).

References

Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA). July 2012. Linda Garrett. El Salvador Update: July 2012. [Accessed 23 May 2015]

_____. N.d. "Who We Are." [Accessed 23 May 2015]

Diario1. 16 October 2013. Julia Gavarrete and Pedro Salazar. "Espionaje: campo de batalla en la lucha política." [Accessed 15 May 2015]

El Faro. 25 August 2010. Sergio Arauz. "Corte Suprema declara inconstitucional la partida secreta." [Accessed 23 May 2015]

El Mundo. 5 July 2012. Antonio Soriano. "Belarmino Jaime denuncia persecución del personal de OIE." [Accessed 22 May 2015]

El Salvador. 26 October 2009. Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones (SIGET). "Estructura organizativa." [Accessed 18 May 2015]

_____. 2001. Decreto No. 554, Ley del Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado. [Accessed 11 May 2015]

_____. N.d. Corte Suprema de Justicia (CSJ). "Presidentes del órgano: magistrados de la Corte Suprema de Justicia año 2012-2009." [Accessed 11 May 2015]

Elsalvador.com. 17 August 2012. Jaime García and Jaime López. "'Para nosotros no tiene validez': dice Belarmino Jaime sobre fallo de la CCJ." [Accessed 11 May 2015]

_____. 8 July 2012. Evangelina del Pilar de Sol. "El derecho a la insurrección pacíficamente." [Accessed 18 May 2015]

Instituto de Estudios de la Mujer "Norma Virginia Guirola de Herrera" (CEMUJER) et al. 29 October 2013. Resumen de informe sobre amenazas a la independencia judicial de la Sala de lo Constitucional en El Salvador. [Accessed 11 May 2015]

La Página. 18 August 2012. Emerson Ayala. "Belarmino Jaime: yo nunca he salido de Sala de lo Constitucional." [Accessed 18 May 2015]

_____. 5 July 2012. Marco Tulio Ramos. "Belarmino Jaime denuncia persecución de agentes del OIE." [Accessed 11 May 2015]

_____. 25 August 2010. Jessica Guzmán. "'Partida Secreta' de la Presidencia es declarada inconstitucional." [Accessed 23 May 2015]

La Prensa Gráfica. 18 July 2013. Nelson Rauda Zablah. "Magistrados de sala CSJ denuncian persecución." [Accessed 11 May 2015]

_____. 18 August 2012. Jessica Ávalos and Giovanni Lemus. "Belarmino Jaime insiste en que sala es víctima de persecución de la OIE." [Accessed 11 May 2015]

_____. 17 August 2012. Ricardo Chavarría and Jessica Ávalos. "Magistrado Belarmino Jaime considera que Ovidio Bonilla cometió delito de falsedad." [Accessed 11 May 2015]

Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA). 2 July 2012. Dirección de Comunicaciones. "Imperio de la mentira." [Accessed 19 May 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Abogados y Notarios de El Salvador; Al Jazeera; Amnesty International; ecoi.net; El Salvador - Fiscalía General de la República, Policía Nacional Civil, Presidencia de la República, Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos; Factiva; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; Mediolleno; Organization of American States; Political Handbook of the World; TVES; United Nations - Refworld; United States - Department of State.