Trial spreads word on Salvadoran rights

Going to trial July 7 for protesting the imprisonment of 17 Salvadoran women for miscarriages proved rewarding, says Paki Wieland. “Both the judge and prosecutor allowed they learned about the injustice done to the women, and they thanked us for that.”

The four protesters arrested April 24, 2015, at the Salvadoran embassy in Washington DC were found guilty of unlawful entry (which carries a maximum sentence of 6 months in prison) and sentenced to time served. The Salvadoran women, however, are serving 30-year prison sentences.

Fifteen of the 17 are still in prison. According to Amnesty International, the charges are for aggravated homicide and receiving illegal abortions, though there is little to no evidence as to the causes of their miscarriages. Carmen Guadalupe Vásquez Aldana made international headlines earlier this year as one of the 17 to be released. New York Times. 

Protesters sentenced along with Wieland are Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of the Americas Watch, and New York peace activists Ed Kinane and John Honeck.  Paki Wieland, a WILPF member, sings with the Northampton MA Raging Grannies. She will join a delegation to El Salvador August 19-25 with Citizens for Las 17 to offer continuing support to the women.The SOAW Watch group delivered a letter to the embassy to express their solidarity and to seek the release of the 17 women. Julienne Oldfield of Syracuse NY and Palma Ryan of Cliff Island ME also participated in the sit-in but were not present at the time of the arrests.

Photo: Paki Wieland, on floor, speaks with a staff member at the Salvadoran embassy in Washington DC during the sit-to protest the prison sentences of 17 Salvadoran women for having had miscarriages. The Massachusetts WILPF member was one of four demonstrators arrested April 24, 2015.    Joy First photo