
-
Bumpy skies: How climate change increases air turbulence
-
Chinese tiger, French berets and space cannons mark Gamescom 2025
-
US judge orders dismantling of Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz'
-
Evicted from their forests, Kenyan hunter-gatherers fight for their rights
-
Japan city proposes two-hour daily smartphone limit
-
A rise in the mountains as Vuelta a Espana cranks up the climbing
-
Thai ex-PM Thaksin acquitted of royal insult charges
-
Japanese amateur boxer in intensive care after latest incident
-
US wine sellers left in limbo despite EU tariff deal
-
Erik Menendez denied parole, decades after parents' murders
-
Under Trump pressure, US Fed chief to walk tightrope in speech
-
Nvidia chief says H20 chip shipments to China not a security concern
-
North Korea's Kim decorates troops who fought for Russia against Ukraine
-
Two separate guerilla attacks kill 18 in Colombia
-
Rice prices up 91 pct year-on-year in Japan
-
Asian markets tick up as investors eye Jackson Hole meeting
-
De Bruyne leads Napoli's Serie A title defence as Lukaku injury causes concern
-
Pollard, Albornoz hailed as key Rugby Championship clashes loom
-
Marseille plunged into crisis with season just getting started
-
Pakistan woos old rival Bangladesh, as India watches on
-
Documents show New Zealand unease over Chinese warships in South Pacific
-
$346 mn US-Nigeria arms deal sets rights groups on edge
-
Got the scoop: Bear takes over California ice cream shop
-
Rested but rusty Djokovic plots US Open ambush
-
'Tough lessons' helping Sabalenka ahead of US Open defence
-
Meta makes huge cloud computing deal with Google: source
-
Blockbuster 'Sincaraz' rivalry ready to light up US Open
-
Less tax, more luxury: millionaires flock to Dubai
-
Akie Iwai leads, Canadian teen Deng in hunt at LPGA Canadian Open
-
Chile, Argentina football fans trade blame over stadium violence
-
Palestinian camps in Lebanon begin disarming
-
Five dead as 'thunderous' bomb attack hits Colombian city
-
Henley leads PGA Tour Championship with Scheffler in pursuit
-
US Supreme Court allows cuts in NIH diversity research grants
-
Why fan violence still sullies Latin American football
-
Lil Nas X arrested after nearly naked nighttime stroll in LA
-
Texas, California race to redraw electoral maps ahead of US midterms
-
US captain Zackary wants Eagles to soar against England in Women's Rugby World Cup opener
-
Palace's Eze on verge of Arsenal move as he misses European tie
-
Google to provide Gemini AI tools to US government
-
Canada measles cases pass 4,500, highest count in Americas
-
'Underdog' Jefferson-Wooden shrugs off Tokyo worlds pressure
-
England's Jones relishing 'special occasion' at Women's Rugby World Cup after tragic year
-
Alcaraz, Djokovic on US Open collision course
-
US singer signs on for Russia's answer to Eurovision
-
Hundred-plus detained after fans 'lynched' during South America cup tie
-
Trump hails 'total victory' as US court quashes $464 mn civil penalty
-
Stocks waver ahead of Fed speech but EU tariff deal lifts Europe
-
Slot says Liverpool will only sign right player at right price amid Isak row
-
Walmart expects better sales, earnings as shoppers squeezed by tariffs

Salvadoran lawyer arrested on money laundering charges
A Salvadoran lawyer and fierce critic of President Nayib Bukele was arrested Saturday on charges of money laundering, the prosecutor's office said, a move branded by human rights organizations as an offensive to silence those who question the government.
Bukele's hardline approach to El Salvador's powerful gangs has made him one of the world's most domestically popular leaders, even as human rights defenders raise alarm over arbitrary arrests and eroding civil liberties.
Enrique Anaya, a constitutional lawyer, who has called Nayib a "dictator" and criticized his reelection, was arrested at his home in the city of Santa Tecla.
Images of Anaya handcuffed alongside police officers were shared on social media by the Attorney General's Office, which stated that he will be referred to the courts in the coming days for "money and asset laundering."
It comes after the detention this year of fellow lawyer Ruth Lopez, head of an anti-corruption unit of human rights NGO Cristosal, who was accused of embezzling state funds when she worked for an electoral court a decade ago.
El Salvador's constitution does not allow successive presidential terms, but a Bukele-stacked Supreme Court allowed him to run, and he was reelected in February 2024.
- 'Of course I'm afraid' -
Bukele, who won 85 percent of the votes thanks to his war against gangs, accuses his critics of leftist political activism and last week warned that "corrupt opposition members" are not untouchable.
"I don't care if they call me a dictator. I'd rather be called a dictator than see Salvadorans killed in the streets," he said in a speech Sunday.
Anaya responded on a television program Tuesday that Bukele had removed "the mask," adding "he is what he is."
"Here, whoever speaks, whoever criticizes, whoever does not kneel before the idol, gets imprisoned. Of course, I am afraid," Anaya said.
He said in his last X post on Friday that "the Bukelean dictatorship is increasingly questioned and confronted internationally," referencing criticism from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) regarding the arrest of Lopez's and other activists.
Lopez has criticized Bukele's anti-crime policy, which has seen thousands of alleged gangsters arrested and jailed in harsh conditions.
Her NGO Cristosal helps families of Salvadorans caught up in Bukele's crackdown on gangs, as well as more than 250 Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration, which paid El Salvador to imprison them.
"It's part of what we're living through. Unfortunately, Enrique's situation is similar to Ruth's case," said Anaya's defense attorney, Jaime Quintanilla.
-- 'Troubling escalation' --
In a statement, Cristosal described Anaya as a "key figure in defending democratic institutions and constitutional order."
"His arrest is part of a troubling escalation of criminalization against those who defend the rule of law in El Salvador," he added.
An environmental lawyer and an evangelical pastor supporting a farmers' protest were arrested in May, and in February Fidel Zavala, a human rights activist, was accused of ties to gangs.
Last month, Bukele's allies in the Legislative Assembly imposed a Foreign Agents Law levying a 30 percent tax on organizations receiving overseas funding and requiring them to join a special registry.
The European Union said on Saturday that the law "could restrict society" and lamented the arrests, which Bukele responded to on X, calling it an "aged bloc" of bureaucrats who insist "on preaching to the rest of the world."
Bukele accuses NGOs of defending criminals and has accused the media of joining an "organized attack" spearheaded by international groups.
Anaya has stated on several occasions in interviews that Bukele's legacy will be one of "human rights violations" and "destruction of democracy."
R.Halabi--SF-PST