Ruth López Wins 2026 Sir Henry Brooke Award

The Fund for Global Human Rights is pleased to share that Salvadoran lawyer and human rights defender Ruth López has been recognized by the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk with the 2026 Sir Henry Brooke Award.

As a lawyer, researcher, and activist, Ruth’s career has been dedicated to exposing corruption and defending access to justice in El Salvador. She led the Anti-Corruption Unit of FGHR grantee partner Cristosal until May 2025, when she was arrested and detained by Salvadoran authorities on spurious—and shifting—charges without evidence. She has been denied due process and remains in prison without trial.

“Ruth’s story is a testament to the power of resistance and the use of the law in the service of human rights and democracy in El Salvador,” said Ricardo González Bernal, program director for Latin America at FGHR.

“As we have witnessed President Nayib Bukele concentrate power and weaken democratic institutions in El Salvador in recent years, we have also witnessed Ruth’s courage and temperance in defending the values of legality and the rule of law by appealing every step that authoritarianism has gained.”

The Sir Henry Brooke Award is presented annually by the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk, a UK-based charity that supports lawyers and human rights defenders working in challenging contexts. The award recognizes a legal practitioner or human rights defender for their outstanding contribution to the promotion, protection, and advancement of human rights.

Due to her ongoing detention, the award was accepted on Ruth’s behalf by her partner, Louis Benavides, and Cristosal’s executive director, Noah Bullock, at a ceremony in London on Tuesday, March 10.

“Ruth has received a tremendous amount of international solidarity,” said Noah. “That’s a tribute to the quality of person and professional that she is, and the breadth of relationships and collaborations that she has—from the community level up to the United Nations.

“She’s a mom, she’s a professor, she’s a person of faith, she’s a human rights defender, she’s a friend.”

Following the arrests of Ruth and fellow lawyer Enrique Anaya, Noah and the remaining staff of Cristosal left El Salvador in July 2025. From exile in Guatemala, they continue to fight for human rights in El Salvador—and for the release of Ruth, Enrique, and all others imprisoned for their commitment to justice.

Ruth has previously been recognized for her resilience and anti-corruption activism by the American Bar Association, the Magnitsky Awards, and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. She was named one of the world’s most influential and inspiring women by the BBC in 2024. In July 2025, Amnesty International declared her a prisoner of conscience.

“They say that autocratic regimes conspire to support each other internationally,” said Noah. “When we receive these types of awards and recognitions on behalf of Ruth, it feels like the human rights movement also can conspire to support itself around the world.”