A mass trial of 486 suspected members of the MS-13 gang has begun in El Salvador, the Salvadoran Attorney General’s office said.
Footage released by the Attorney General’s Office shows many of the men in prison attending the trial via video link.
The group has been accused of committing more than 47,000 crimes, including murder, extortion, drug and weapons trafficking, from 2012 to 2022.
UN experts said mass trials “undermine the exercise of detainees’ right to defense and the principle of presumption of innocence.”
But the Attorney General’s Office said there was “compelling” evidence to impose the “maximum penalty” on those found guilty.
The BBC’s Mimi Swaby explains why El Salvador is taking this approach and why it has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups.
