ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) today issued this statement in response to reports that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was tortured during his time in CECOT prison in El Salvador.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s descriptions of his torture at the hands of the El Salvador government are horrifying. This is what human rights groups warned about – CECOT prison has been widely reported for serious human rights violations, including torture. It is no surprise that these reports are surfacing; there will be more to come as a result of the Trump administration’s decision to render immigrants there,” said Yumna Rizvi, CVT senior policy analyst. “Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s suffering was preventable. His rendition to CECOT prison was illegal. The Trump administration is transferring people to torture, and vilifying them in the process, to instill fear and pain among immigrants in this country. As the U.S. continues to pursue such illegal actions, more people will suffer and more irreparable damage will be done to the country’s reputation.”

As Scott Roehm, CVT director of global policy and advocacy, has written previously, sending a person to a place known to inflict torture is illegal under U.S. and international law, a clear violation of the principle of nonrefoulement.

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The Center for Victims of Torture is a nonprofit organization with offices in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, United States and additional project sites around the world. Visit www.cvt.org