A 21-YEAR-OLD woman acquitted of the aggravated murder of her baby in El Salvador has called on her supporters to fight for others like her.

A judge said there was no evidence that Evelyn Hernandez had killed her child, which was found dead in the septic tank of the toilet where she gave birth. His ruling contradicted that of a 2017 trial, during which Hernandez was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years.

Women’s groups hope the ruling will set a precedent for other jailed women.

“I ask that justice and freedom be done for the other women,” Hernandez said Monday, referring to at least 17 women who are currently in jail over similar cases. El Salvador has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world. Abortion is illegal in all circumstances and those found guilty face between two and eight years in jail.

But in many instances, including the case against Hernandez, the charge is changed to one of aggravated homicide, which carries a minimum sentence of 30 years.

Hernandez was charged with aggravated murder, with prosecutors arguing that she had killed her baby in 2016. She has always maintained her innocence, saying that she had been raped by a gang member and had no idea that she was pregnant.

Hernandez says that on April 6, 2016, when she was 18, she experienced severe stomach pains and bleeding while at her home in rural El Salvador. When she went to the toilet, located in an outhouse, she fainted. Her mother took her to a hospital, where doctors found she had given birth.

She was arrested after the body of her baby was found in the toilet’s septic tank. She was originally charged with inducing an abortion, which is illegal in El Salvador. That charge was later changed to aggravated murder, and she was sentenced to 30 years in prison in July 2017.

Hernandez served 33 months in jail before her appeal was successful and a retrial was ordered. She was released from prison in February pending her retrial.

Judge Jose Virgilio Jurado Martinez said Monday that there was no evidence that a crime had been committed and acquitted Hernandez. (SD-Agencies)