Salvador clears rape victim of killing baby

An appeals court in El Salvador on Monday acquitted a 21-year-old rape victim accused of killing her stillborn baby, in a case closely watched by rights groups.

The court in San Salvador overturned a 30-year sentence imposed on Evelyn Hernandez, who was convicted under the Central American country’s strict anti-abortion laws in 2017.

Hernandez’s lawyer, Bertha Maria Deleon, triumphantly announced the verdict on Twitter: “Acquitted! Yes we could.”

Her legal team had won a re-trial after appealing the 2017 verdict on the grounds that it had failed to take into account key forensic evidence that indicated that the baby had choked in the womb.

Hernandez gave birth in April 2016 in the bathroom of her home in the central Cuscatlan region. She was 18 years old and eight months pregnant.

 

Salvador clears rape victim of killing baby

An appeals court in El Salvador on Monday acquitted a 21-year-old rape victim accused of killing her stillborn baby, in a case closely watched by rights groups. The court in San Salvador overturned a 30-year sentence imposed on Evelyn Hernandez, who was convicted under the Central American countrys strict anti-abortion laws in 2017. Hernandezs lawyer, Bertha Maria Deleon, triumphantly announced the verdict on Twitter: Acquitted! Yes we could. Her legal team had won a re-trial after appealing the 2017 verdict on the grounds that it had failed to take into account key forensic evidence that indicated that the baby had choked in the womb. Hernandez gave birth in April 2016 in the bathroom of her home in the central Cuscatlan region. She was 18 years old and eight months pregnant.