Man spent 12 years in jail without being charged

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican State does not have a record of the existence of Luis Peña Valdez, 55, but kept him imprisoned for 12 years in the National Penitentiary of La Victoria, without there being evidence of an open criminal process against him and without going before a judge.

Now free, Luis, without an identity and electoral card, is eager to return to his native Batey Verde, in Monte Plata province, to settle on a ranch that he believes still owns, while the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) leads his case in search of compensation from the State.

Twelve years ago, Luis went to the house of a builder that he only identifies as Moreno, to collect the 35,000 pesos that he owed him for the masonry work he did. The wife of the builder told him that he was not in the house, but the couple’s daughter revealed otherwise.

The builder never left the house, from where he called the National Police. Police officers arrived at the scene and took him handcuffed to the Sabana Grande de Boyá precinct, where he spent the night.