A THREE-MONTH mass trial of hundreds of alleged gang members of MS-13 wrapped up on Wednesday in El Salvador.

The proceedings against 485 members of the international criminal Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang on charges that include homicide, extortion, drugs, arms and human trafficking, have drawn criticism by human rights groups, which say they infringe on defendants’ rights under the Latin American country’s state of emergency.

The state of emergency, enacted in March 2022 by President Nayib Bukele, suspended some constitutional rights and tens of thousands of Salvadorans have been detained since then.

“First, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defence,” said Juan Pappier, America’s deputy director for Human Rights Watch.

“This is not justice. It is giving a veneer of legality to the arrests of innocent people that should never have happened.”

It’s unclear when the verdicts are expected.

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the gang members are on trial for involvement in a total of 14,420 crimes — including 444 killings — committed between 2012 and 2022.

The prosecution has asked for maximum sentence for each crime, which could amount to life in prison for some, and $9 million (£6.6m) in civil damages in all.