OAS panel urges El Salvador to restore suspended rights

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The Inter American Commission on Human Rights is urging the government of El Salvador to restore all the rights suspended under an “emergency” anti-gang decree that is now entering its second year. The commission is an arm of the Organization of American States. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele asked the country’s congress Wednesday to extend again extend the emergency decree to continue the crackdown on gangs that has been widely popular among Salvadorans. The decree was originally imposed on March 27,  2022, and more than 67,000 people have been imprisoned under the crackdown on street gangs. There have been thousands of reported rights abuses. Congress has voted to renew the emergency powers a dozen times.