El Salvador: Information on the penalties currently imposed on those who deserted military service or deserted their civil defence patrols before the peace accords came into effect in February 1992

The information that follows was provided by a representative of Tutela Legal of the Archbishop's office in San Salvador. This adds to the information provided in previous Responses to Information Requests, including SLV17173.E of 22 April 1994, SLV17944.E of 4 August 1994 and SLV18224.E of 16 August 1994.

During the armed conflict, persons who deserted their military units or civil defence patrols were sometimes actively sought by their commanders, and were subject to prosecution and punishment by military authorities. Military judges presided over the prosecution of deserters.

Although the amnesty passed following the conflict did not specifically address the situation of deserters, virtually all conflict-related cases were then dropped or suspended. Cases of desertion from civil patrols or the armed forces that occurred during the armed conflict are not being investigated or subjected to prosecution at present, and cases that were opened against deserters have been suspended or closed.

The source pointed out that despite the fact that old desertion cases are not being reviewed by the courts, records of desertion and of trials are likely kept by the armed forces, and might be held against individuals who seek employment in the army or some other related institution. Finally, the representative stated that the current absence of legal penalties for desertion during the armed conflict does not necessarily mean that fear of return is unjustified for all those who deserted: it is conceivable that some former comrades-in-arms or others may hold personal grudges against a deserter, depending on the particular circumstances of the individual and his desertion.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find attached the list of sources consulted in researching this information request.

Reference

Tutela Legal del Arzobispado, San Salvador. 7 December 1994. Telephone interview with director.

Additional Sources Consulted

Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. Bi-monthly.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. Weekly.

Central America Update [Toronto]. Bi-monthly.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Weekly.

Latin American Regional Reports: Central America & the Caribbean [London]. Monthly.

Latin American Weekly Report [London]. Weekly.

News from Americas Watch [New York]. Monthly.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) reports. Daily.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

Newspapers and periodicals pertaining to the appropriate region.

On-line searches of news articles.

Note on oral sources:

Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.