After the statements of the International Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) on alleged violations of due process on the occasion of the detention of the crew of an aircraft of Pivot Airlines, the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) clarifies the situation of the case.
Full document of the PRG
With the aim of edifying the citizenry, the Public Ministry considers it appropriate to point out some details regarding the complaint by the International Association of Airline Pilots (ALPA) about alleged violations of due process on the occasion of the detention of the crew of an aircraft of the Airline Pivot Airlines:
The constitutional and legal obligation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is to immediately set in motion public criminal action in the event of the occurrence of illicit acts, especially in the case of the most significant crimes, such as international illicit trafficking defined in Law 50-88 on Drugs. and Controlled Substances.
Read: People affected by the measure of “Chu” Vásquez demonstrate in front of the National Palace
We initiated the actions of the criminal investigation since the discovery of 200 packages of white powder inside the aircraft became known, which later turned out to be, according to the expert opinion of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif), 209.65 kilograms of hydrochloric cocaine. Thus, in effect, the pilots and other crew members were flagrantly arrested, always respecting all their rights and due process, and contacting the corresponding embassy because they were foreign citizens.
It is not acceptable, under any circumstances, that, in the face of a serious offense such as the one that occurred, and in a flagrant situation, the Public Ministry sets aside its responsibility to investigate and simply dismisses the case prima facie, since we would be facing a scenario of frank impunity that would generate serious suspicions in society about the actions of the persecuting body.
We must remember that the coercive measure imposed on those under investigation, by the competent court, was not preventive detention or house arrest, but economic guarantee, periodic presentation and prohibition to leave the country without judicial authorization, measures that remain until the conclusion of the investigation. criminal process or its lifting by judicial authority.
Nor should the fact be ignored that, while the aircraft was in the custody of the Public Ministry, as a result of a judicial decision of provisional seizure, there was an attempt to take it out of the country without authorization, using a false flight plan, in a practice that can well be described as of criminal.
However, acting responsibly, since the investigation had not obtained sufficient evidence to substantiate the accusation and there was no reasonable possibility of incorporating new ones at this time, the provisional file of the case was arranged and the authorities were requested to judicial authorities nullify coercive measures.
The Public Ministry has acted within the framework of the principles that govern the rule of law, respecting the guarantees of due process, and submitted its actions, as required by law, to the scrutiny of judges before whom those under investigation had the opportunity to defend themselves and assert their arguments, as happens with any person, national or foreign, who faces criminal proceedings in the Dominican Republic.
