[JURIST] Hundreds of judges and lawyers in El Salvador [JURIST news archive] marched to the Supreme Court of Justice [official website] on Thursday to protest challenges that the Attorney General has made to the rulings of four judges. Last week, Attorney General Felix Safie asked the Supreme Court to investigate judges' decisions, which freed prisoners convicted of acts of murder, robbery and rape prior to the expiration of their sentence. Safie termed these as arbitrary exercises of power and accused the judges of corruption; the judges claim that they have acted according to the law and that the government is seeking to encroach on their independence.

The judges also complained that recent reforms to the Criminal Code have increased prosecutors' power at the expense of the judiciary. Several judges carried copies of the Constitution [text, in Spanish], which they urged the Court to respect. BBC News has more. El Porvenir has additional coverage [in Spanish].