Journalists’ murders test Dominican Republic’s press freedom

Medellin, Colombia.- The Inter-American Press Association (SIP) Press Freedom Commission vice president for Dominican Republic on Sun. listed a sequence of incidents of physical and verbal aggression against reporters from various national media, especially from the armed authority, and stressed its battle being waged in Congress.

Miguel Franjul’s observations are contained in his report on the situation of press freedom in the Dominican Republic, presented at the Inter-American Press Association’s half-year meeting, held in Medellín, Colombia, on April 13 and 16.

The report by the also editor-in-chief of Listín Diario comes in the heels of a 20-year prison term handed down against Matias Avelino Casto for the Aug., 2011 murder of journalist Jose Silvestre, and the start of a trial against the alleged killers of the also journalist Blas Olivo.

“Another case is that of journalist Elbania Flores, of Telemicro channel 5, of Santo Domingo, assaulted by the relatives of businessman Angel Rondón, one of the main defendants of distributing bribes for 92 million dollars for the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, during a judicial hearing,” Franjl said.