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El Salvador has begun a mass trial of 486 MS-13 gang suspects, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Video released by the attorney general’s office showed a large number of men from prison attending the trial via video link.
The gang is collectively accused of committing more than 47,000 crimes between 2012 and 2022, including murder, extortion, drug and weapons trafficking.
UN experts said mass trials “undermine the exercise of detainees’ rights to defense and the presumption of innocence”.
But the Attorney General’s Office said it had “compelling” evidence to impose the “maximum penalty” on those found guilty.
The BBC’s Mimi Swaby explains why El Salvador has adopted this approach and why it has been widely criticized by rights groups.
