Amnesty International Report 1994 - Dominican Republic
- Document source:
-
Date:
1 January 1994
At least one political prisoner continued to be imprisoned despite judicial orders for his release. Several prisoners were reported to have been tortured or ill-treated. President Joaquín Balaguer's government stated in April that it planned to establish a human rights centre to investigate allegations of human rights violations and to promote awareness of human rights standards. However, the centre was not apparently in operation by the end of the year. According to a government representative, 70 per cent of the prison population were awaiting trial because of shortage of resources in the judiciary, leading to long delays in trials, including political trials. At least 54 prisoners were deliberately denied their freedom, many apparently for political reasons, despite completing their sentences or obtaining judicial orders for their release. President Balaguer reportedly announced in September that 54 prisoners said to be held illegally in the National Penitentiary of La Victoria should not be released. In one case, the police continued to refuse to comply with three judicial decisions, including one issued in August 1992 by the Supreme Court of Justice, ordering the release of Luis Lizardo Cabrera, a political activist. He had been detained since 1989 on suspicion of having planted a bomb (see Amnesty International Reports 1990 to 1993). There were new allegations of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners. At least 20 of the prisoners said to be illegally held were reportedly beaten by members of the National Police after they had gone on hunger-strike in August in protest at their continued detention in the National Penitentiary of La Victoria. Two inmates, Luis Lizardo Cabrera and Víctor Manuel Penaldo Almonte, required hospital treatment as a result. Despite a complaint to the authorities by an independent human rights organization, no known investigation into this incident was conducted. In July Juan Díaz Ulerio, a peasant from Mata de Palma, Hato Mayor Province, was reportedly beaten by police officers, then drenched in gasoline and set alight by a tradesman who was accompanying the police. The assault took place during a police operation to evict peasant families from land they had occupied. Juan Díaz was hospitalized with severe burns. No investigation was apparently initiated into the incident. In September one police captain was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and another was suspended without pay for 30 days for the torture of Felipe de Jesús Medrano García (see Amnesty International Report 1993). Amnesty International urged the authorities to investigate the alleged torture of Juan Díaz Ulerio. In October the organization wrote to the Procurator General about the continued illegal imprisonment of Luis Lizardo Cabrera and 53 other prisoners. The organization also requested a full and independent investigation into the alleged ill-treatment of at least 20 of these prisoners. The authorities had not replied to Amnesty International's communications by the end of the year..
Disclaimer: © Copyright Amnesty International
This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.