EL SALVADOR: Police harassment of lawyer and human rights defender Luis Rivera
November 9, 2026
The International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD) and Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) express their concern over acts of police harassment against Salvadoran lawyer Luis Rivera. On 5 November 2026, police activity near his home and attempts to gain unauthorised access to his personal accounts were reported.[1] These incidents raise concerns for his safety and that of his family, particularly in the context of surveillance and intimidation targeting lawyers in El Salvador.
Luis Rivera is a lawyer and a member of the Movement of Dismissed Workers (MTD) and the Movement for the Defence of Working-Class Rights (MDCT). His professional work focuses on providing legal defence to individuals facing political persecution, people detained under the state of exception, and human rights defenders, with particular emphasis on protecting labour and trade union rights and the rights of workers criminalised for their activities. He is also one of the few voices that continue to publicly denounce obstacles to the free exercise of the legal profession, the lack of judicial independence, and violations of fundamental rights committed under the state of exception in El Salvador.
The incidents reported by Luis Rivera form part of a broader context of police harassment, surveillance and monitoring targeting human rights lawyers in El Salvador. These include the cases of lawyers Roxana Cardona and Guillermo García, who have reported acts of police harassment and surveillance.[2] [3]
The seriousness of these incidents also lies in the risk that police surveillance and harassment may lead to arbitrary detention, as has occurred in other documented cases in El Salvador. This was the case for lawyer Ruth López and constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya, whose arrests were preceded by surveillance and harassment. Both remain detained and face criminalisation for their work.[4] [5]
These practices not only jeopardise the safety and freedom of those targeted but also have a chilling effect on the wider legal profession and human rights defenders, potentially restricting the independent practice of law and encouraging self-censorship.
OIAD and L4L recall that Principles 16 and 23 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers establish that lawyers must be able to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference, and that they have the right to participate in public discussions concerning justice and human rights without facing reprisals.
In light of this situation, OIAD and L4L urge the Salvadoran authorities to:
- Conduct an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into the reported incidents, clarifying the circumstances and purpose of the police presence near Luis Rivera’s home, as well as the attempts to gain unauthorised access to his personal accounts.
- Guarantee the safety and physical and psychological integrity of Luis Rivera and his family by taking the necessary measures to prevent further acts of surveillance, harassment, intimidation or possible reprisals.
- Guarantee his ability to practise his profession freely and independently and to carry out his work defending human and labour rights, refraining from any action that could constitute a reprisal for his professional activities, his public denunciations or his participation in organisations defending working-class rights.
The signatory organisations will continue to monitor Luis Rivera’s situation and reiterate that lawyers and human rights defenders must be able to carry out their work without intimidation or reprisals.
[1] Observatorio Regional de Derechos (ORD), comunicado sobre la denuncia de actos de hostigamiento contra el abogado Luis Rivera, 5 November 2026.
[2] International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD), «El Salvador: la comunidad jurídica internacional exige garantías de protección para la abogada Roxana Cardona ante el hostigamiento policial reiterado», 23 October 2026.
[3] International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD), «El Salvador: Preocupación por patrones de vigilancia, seguimiento e intimidación contra el abogado Guillermo García», 27 July 2026.
[4] International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD), «El Salvador: La abogada defensora de derechos humanos Ruth López detenida por su labor anticorrupción», 22 May 2025.
[5] International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD), «El Salvador: Detención sin garantías y criminalización contra el abogado Enrique Anaya», 11 August 2025.
