Santo Domingo.-The Dominican Judiciary, together with the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), the Public Defender’s Office, the General Directorate of Penitentiary and Correctional Services and institutions from the health sector, analyzed the situation of the prisoners of the national penitentiary of The victorywith the aim of implementing an emergency program aimed at assisting inmates in vulnerable conditions.
According to a statement from the Judiciary, the measure will be part of a strategic plan called “Optimization of the criminal process” that will be carried out by all the justice institutions to improve the approach to criminal justice and the Dominican prison system.
This program contemplates an urgent action plan in La Victoria for prisoners who are affected by one of the following conditions: inmates with serious illnesses, sentence served, sentence served with fine and preventive with bail in a situation of poverty.
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The statement indicates that the initiative is part of the institutional vision of the Judiciary to achieve Justice up to date to guarantee the dignity of people.
According to Luis Henry Molina, president of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) and the Council of the Judiciary (CPJ), “to achieve this purpose, it is necessary to improve access to justice for people in conditions of vulnerability, among whom are find those deprived of liberty linked to minor crimes with release orders that have not been made effective or who are in a serious health situation.
As part of the emergency operation at La Victoria Penitentiary, among other activities, the following actions will be carried out:
1. Validate the identification, evaluation and purification carried out of people in conditions of extreme vulnerability, prior to applying the corresponding judicial measure.
2. Implement a process for the immediate execution of release orders for those who require it.
3. Enable forensic doctors with a permanent seat in La Victoria for care, medical evaluation and issuance of the medical certificate.
4. Set up a mobile laboratory in La Victoria to perform tests on inmates.
5. Facilitate the admission to hospital centers of people with a health situation and their appropriate approach to diagnosis.
6. Enable transfers of prisoners to health centers through ambulances and the supply of medicines.
7. Appointment of internists, psychiatrists and psychologists for care, evaluation and state certification of prisoners.
At the meeting, the participants expressed their firm will to seek solutions in light of criminal procedure regulations, which guarantee a prompt response to judicial processes, with special emphasis on the problems faced by inmates with serious health problems, without files , the procedural status of preventive and sentenced, aimed at dignifying and improving the conditions in which they find themselves, making use of the procedural institutes that the norm allows.
In this sense, it was proposed to form an operational inter-institutional work table at the national level and other departmental ones, in order to manage and follow up on the actions required of State institutions considering the level of urgency.
Also participating in the meeting were Miriam Germán Brito, Attorney General of the Republic; the deputy attorney, Yeni Berenice Reynoso; Daniel Rivera, Minister of Health; Mario Lama, director of the National Health Service (SNS); Rodolfo Valentín, director of the National Office of Public Defense; Fray Arístides Jiménez Richardson, coordinator of the Penitentiary Ministry of the Catholic Church and Roberto Hernández Basilio, General Director of Penitentiary and Correctional Services.
On behalf of the Judiciary, the criminal magistrates, Fran Soto Sánchez, judge of the Second Chamber of the SCJ, were also present; Rafael Báez, judge of the first chamber of the criminal chamber of the National District Court of Appeals; Esmirna Gisselle Méndez, president of the First Collegiate Court of the National District and Kenya Romero, coordinator of the Courts of Instruction of the aforementioned jurisdiction.
