The following press release was issued by PRO-BUSQUEDA on Thursday, November 14.
This morning at 4:45am, the PROBUSQUEDA Association was surprised by a violent act. Three armed men threatened the director of the institution at gun point when he arrived at the offices. The director himself was held at gunpoint and threatened until he call for the PROBUSQUEDA guard to open the door so they could gain access to the PROBUSQUEDA archives. The guard and president of the board were also attacked. After they were gagged and thrown to the floor the armed men proceeded to enter the specific rooms where the archives and documents are stored, they proceeded to damage the computers, douse the archives with gasoline, and light them on fire causing considerable damage.
La oficina de probusqueda.
It is important to emphasize that this violent act was intended to destroy specific documents as the armed men attacked units that were of vital importance to the work of PROBUSQUEDA, damaged computers with classified documents. In addition to destroying archives that are essential in the cases that have been presented to the justice system at the national and international level, they also destroyed the organization’s financial information.
Although the extent of the damage has yet to be determined, it has affected many things including DNA samples and the theft of data of families of victims of human rights abuses during the armed conflict. In addition, an employee of the institution was threatened the same morning. At 7:50am when she was on her way to work, a vehicle approached the bus stop where she usually waits for the bus, three men got out and followed her on foot until she found a taxi. She was still in a state of shock when she arrived at the office only to find the destruction described above.
This act of aggression against the victims and families of the forcibly disappeared in El Salvador is framed within the concerning context of the closure of Tutela Legal by the Archbishop of El Salvador and the uncertainty of the Amnesty law being declared unconstitutional.
We demand that the appropriate authorities complete a transparent and prompt investigation into this crime, which we do not consider a simple crime, but a violation of the right to truth, justice, and reparation to the victims of forced disappearances who form PROBUSQUEDA.
PROBUSQUEDA reiterates that we will continue to work tirelessly to support the process of investigation and prosecution, as well as the organization of family members and provide psychological attention to these cases of forced disappearance of children during the armed conflict.
We appreciate the expressions of solidarity and support that we have received from both national and international organizations, from friends and public figures who believe in PROBUSQUEDA. Without a doubt these acts of solidarity and support have given us the strength to continue in this fight that is so important for our country. We cannot fail to also mention the strength of unity and support that the family members give us.
Now more than ever, our voices need to unite to denounce these acts of violence that have recently affected human rights organizations in El Salvador.
San Salvador, November 14, 2013
