El Salvador court acquits woman jailed under anti-abortion laws

A woman who was jailed for attempted murder under El Salvador's strict anti-abortion laws has been freed.

Imelda Cortez, 20, says she became pregnant by her stepfather who sexually abused her for many years.

Doctors suspected she had tried to perform an abortion after she gave birth to a baby girl in a latrine in April of last year.

The child survived, but Cortez was arrested and spent more than 18 months in custody as she awaited trial.

Prosecutors argued that her failure to tell anyone about the pregnancy and seek medical help after giving birth amounted to attempted murder, which carries a possible 20-year sentence.

Her lawyers said that to avoid a harsher sentence she had admitted to neglecting her newborn baby, an offense that carries a one-year jail term.

The court determined that Cortez, who had not known she was pregnant, did not try to kill her infant daughter. The child survived.

As she left the court, Cortez, who was arrested shortly after the birth, was greeted by cheering relatives and human rights activists holding signs demanding her freedom.

"This sentence... represents hope for women who are still in prison and are also being tried for aggravated homicide," defense lawyer Ana Martinez told reporters following the verdict.

Cortez was greeted outside the court in Usulután by cheering relatives and human rights activists bearing signs with messages of support.

Prosecutors say her stepfather has been arrested and is awaiting trial.

For the past two decades, El Salvador has had some of the world's most severe laws against women who have abortions or those who are suspected of assisting them, even when the life of the woman is at risk.

Some 22 more women are serving sentences of up to 35 years for aggravated homicide linked to abortion, according to the Group for Decriminalizing Abortion.

While the country is not alone in Latin America in having a total ban on abortions, it is particularly strict in the way it enforces it.

Doctors have to inform the authorities if they think a woman has tried to end her pregnancy. If they fail to report such cases, they too could face long sentences in jail.