- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
'I lost my youth': Women jailed for miscarriages in El Salvador
Kenia was 17 when, she says, she had a miscarriage after a fall and was sent to jail on suspicion of having had an abortion in El Salvador.
Nine years later, she is out after receiving a reprieve, but feels like she was robbed of her youth in a country with among the world's strictest abortion laws.
She was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
"I was deprived of my freedom for such an unjust reason," Kenia said this week at a press conference with three other women who were similarly punished.
"I lost my youth, I lost my family, all my aspirations were taken away from me," she said, in tears.
The four women, who wore face masks throughout the briefing, gave their real first names but withheld their surnames to avoid being further "stigmatized."
After her fall, Kenia recalled, "the last thing I remember seeing was lots of lights... I was in hospital on a stretcher and there were policemen guarding me and taking pictures of me."
One policeman told her he would make sure that she would "rot in prison" and "that is what happened," she said.
Kenia is one of 62 women to have had their "abortion" sentences commuted since 2009, thanks to the efforts of activist groups, said one such campaigner, Sara Garcia.
Ten remain behind bars, however, and two are still awaiting trial.
- 'Because we are women' -
El Salvador has had an outright ban on abortion since 1998, even in cases of rape or if the health of the woman or fetus are in danger.
Terminating a pregnancy can send a woman to jail for up to eight years, but Salvadoran judges often instead find women guilty of "aggravated homicide," which is punishable by up to 50 years in prison.
Many women are prosecuted after seeking medical help for complications in pregnancy, suspected of having attempted an abortion.
The law gives rise to "stigma and prejudice and creates conditions for women to be persecuted, denounced, prosecuted and unjustly imprisoned," said Morena Herrera of the ACDATEE abortion rights group.
Elsy, 38, was recently freed after "ten difficult years in prison" during which she was separated from her son.
Evelyn, 34, spent 13 years behind bars.
"This law is unfair," Evelyn said at the press conference. "We are considered criminals because we are women."
Karen, 28, recounted that she fell ill at home and woke up "in hospital, cuffed to a stretcher."
Even as a newly-free woman, she said she felt judged in El Salvador and regularly received "dirty looks."
"It is important to obtain the freedom of all women unjustly imprisoned, but we must also ensure that there are no more women reported at public hospitals," said Herrera.
L.Mesquita--PC