Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2003 - Dominican Republic
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 2003 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2003 - Dominican Republic, 2003, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/46e6915b2.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | 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. |
The press freedom situation was quite good, but its defenders were disappointed by the quashing of the convictions of journalist Orlando Martínez's killers.
On 5 November 2002, the Santo Domingo appeals court threw out for technical reasons the 30-year jail sentences imposed on four army officers for killing Orlando Martínez, editor of the magazine Ahora, in 1975.
The four men – Joaquín Antonio Pou Castro, Rafael Alfredo Lluberes Ricart, Luis Emilio de la Rosa and Mariano Cabrera Durán – were convicted on 4 August 2000 but the appeals judge said the grounds for the conviction were not published in the correct manner. The journalist's family appealed to the supreme court, accusing the judge of being biased.
Martínez, who also worked for the daily El Nacional and was a member of the Communist Party, was shot dead on 17 March 1975. His family said he had been warned that his articles were upsetting powerful people, including the then-president, Joaquin Balaguer.
