The July 30th arrest of popular Spanish priest Father Antonio Rodriguez (“Father Toño”) in his home in Mejicanos, El Salvador, has drawn protest from social movement groups and accusations of political persecution.

Father Toño has lived in El Salvador for 15 years, working to rehabilitate gang members in marginalized communities. More recently, he had been working as a mediator in new dialogues with imprisoned gang leaders after the government began distancing itself from the previous controversial "truce" process. The Attorney General’s Office, a body independent from other branches of government, has charged the priest with bringing prohibited items into prisons, influence trafficking and illicit associations with gang members. Attorneys from the Foundations for the Study of the Application of the Law (FESPAD), who represent Father Toño, have condemned the charges, calling the case “political persecution directed by Attorney General Luis Martínez.”

The priest’s detention has sparked protests both in El Salvador and his native Spain. President Sánchez Cerén has also spoken out in solidarity with the jailed priest: “It seems to me that he is a priest who has contributed a great deal to the area of Mejicanos…I join all the voices calling for a transparent process.” Medardo Gonzalez, Secretary General of the governing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party, contrasted Attorney General Martínez’s haste in capturing and prosecuting Father Toño with his inaction against former right-wing president Francisco Flores, charged with embezzling millions of public funds, who remains international fugitive. “I think the Attorney General has gone too far, and he wants to publicly humiliate Father Toño,” Gonzalez commented.

Father Toño has been ordered to remain in police custody pending trail, but was transferred to a private hospital on Sunday for complications due to diabetes.