El Salvador: Failure to release woman jailed after miscarriage, outrageous step backward for justice
| Publisher | Amnesty International |
| Publication Date | 13 December 2017 |
| Cite as | Amnesty International, El Salvador: Failure to release woman jailed after miscarriage, outrageous step backward for justice, 13 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a3397024.html [accessed 21 May 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. |
A court's decision not to release a woman forced to spend a decade behind bars after having a miscarriage in El Salvador is an outrageous step backward for justice, Amnesty International said.
Teodora suffered a stillbirth in 2007, after the rapid onset of serious pain while she was at work. Police arrested her as she lay in a pool of blood. She was later sentenced to 30 years for 'aggravated homicide' under El Salvador's total ban on abortions.
The trial was marred by irregularities.
"Teodora's tragic story is a sad illustration of everything that is wrong with the justice system in El Salvador, where human rights seem to be a foreign concept," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
"Instead of punishing Teodora for being a woman, authorities in El Salvador must urgently take a hard look at their outrageous anti-abortion law and take immediate steps to repeal it."
