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Four leading human rights organizations—the Boston University School of Law International Human Rights Clinic, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), the Global Strategic Litigation Council (GSLC) and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR)—have filed a lawsuit seeking an emergency ruling by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Commission) against El Salvador for their unlawful detention of hundreds of individuals forcibly and illegally transferred from the United States in recent months. Without any due process, these individuals—including many with pending asylum applications—are being held incommunicado in El Salvador’s infamous Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a mega-prison widely condemned for its inhumane conditions.

The action, brought on behalf of more than a dozen families, centers on hundreds of people subjected to enforced disappearances on or after March 15 and transferred from the United States pursuant to a secret agreement with the Bukele government. People were targeted based on unproven allegations of criminal activity, some hinging on “evidence” as flimsy as generic tattoos. None were granted a meaningful opportunity to contest their transfer, nor have they since been afforded due process. 

“This is a moral and legal failure of two governments—and a human rights emergency demanding global attention,” said Bella Mosselmans, Director of the GSLC. “The US and El Salvador have colluded to strip hundreds of people—including many individuals with pending asylum claims in the US—of their rights and freedom. These individuals have been ripped from their families, vanished without a trace and abandoned in a prison widely condemned by the international community. This is state-sanctioned enforced disappearance and must end now.”

This legal action comes amid El Salvador’s ongoing state of emergency, now entering its third year, under which constitutional rights and due process guarantees have been indefinitely suspended. For almost two months, the detainees have languished inside CECOT—a prison widely criticized for its cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of inmates, including by the Commission. Without any means of communicating with people inside the prison, the suit raises concerns about what is happening behind closed doors, in a prison where overcrowding, deaths in custody, and forced labor are regularly reported.

“Conditions in CECOT and other detention facilities in El Salvador are beyond appalling,” said Isabel Carlota Roby, Senior Staff Attorney with RFKHR, who recently tried to access the prison in person. “Detainees are held in inhumane conditions, without charges, without representation, and without hope. This is arbitrary detention on a mass scale.”

The identities of those detained in CECOT have never been publicly disclosed, leaving many family members in anguish and uncertainty—and violating international legal standards on enforced disappearance and detention. 

“There is a profound shock for the loved ones of individuals who were fleeing persecution from their home country and now find themselves suffering the same harms they feared, such as arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. The unexpected turn is that the harm is being caused by the government of the country where they requested international protection, in coordination with the authorities of a third country with which these refugees had no connection” said Julio Henríquez, Lecturer at the Boston University School of Law International Human Rights Clinic. 

The psychological and emotional toll on the families of the disappeared is grave: none have received confirmation of their loved ones’ whereabouts or well-being. 

“I knew that this kind of thing was happening in Venezuela, sending innocent people to a detention center without a trial,” said DCNP, a partner of one of the disappeared and a Venezuelan refugee, identified by their initials. “I find it almost unbelievable to see this happening in the United States and in El Salvador with [my partner].”

The action comes against the background of a myriad of cases in U.S. courts challenging expulsions to CECOT under a centuries-old wartime authority, as well as other laws, and without adequate process. The Trump administration has so far stonewalled efforts by domestic courts to check such actions. 

This request is also the latest in a series of legal actions challenging the U.S. government’s ongoing unlawful transfers of hundreds of people to detention facilities in countries across Central America, including Panama and Costa Rica. Under the American Convention on Human Rights, which El Salvador ratified in 1978, countries in the region have given the Commission the power to direct a State to take precautionary measures in urgent situations to prevent irreparable harm. 

The lawsuit is calling for the immediate release of all of the estimated 288 individuals illegally detained in CECOT and for El Salvador to comply with its international legal obligations. This includes ensuring access to legal representation, confirming the identities and whereabouts of all detainees and allowing family contact, and restoring full due process rights. The request also seeks an order directing El Salvador to cooperate with the U.S. government on returning migrants held in CECOT. 

“Those disappeared to CECOT have been ripped from their homes and families, imprisoned in deplorable conditions, with no due process and no recourse,” said Julie Bourdoiseau, Staff Attorney at CGRS. “These include people who came to the United States seeking refuge from persecution and state repression, only to suffer further abuses at the hands of the Trump and Bukele administrations. Our governments must not be allowed to operate above the law. This illegal scheme must end.”

Press Inquiries:

• Boston University School of Law Human Rights Clinic: Julio Henríquez, julioch@bu.edu
• The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies: Brianna Krong, krongbrianna@uclawsf.edu, +1-415-581-8835
• The Global Strategic Litigation Council: Bella Mosselmans, bella.mosselmans@newschool.edu, +1-929-823-6381 
• RFK Human Rights: Isabel Carlota Roby, Roby@rfkhumanrights.org , +1-786-568-0146

About the Coalition

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights advocates for human rights issues and pursues strategic litigation to hold governments accountable at home and around the world. 

Boston University School of Law International Human Rights Clinic engages law students in the practice of international human rights law through direct representation, research, and advocacy. The Clinic partners with NGOs and communities around the world to advance global and regional human rights, including through international litigation.

The Global Strategic Litigation Council is a global network of over 550 NGOs, refugee leaders, lawyers, advocates, and academics working to advance the rights of displaced people through strategic litigation and coordinated legal advocacy.

The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) defends the human rights of courageous refugees seeking asylum in the United States. With strategic focus and unparalleled legal expertise, CGRS champions the most challenging cases, fights for due process, and promotes policies that deliver safety and justice for refugees.