TV presenter José Agustín “Gajo” Silvestre de los Santos, was released on bail of 100,000 pesos (2,600 euros) June 2 after six days in detention in the eastern city of La Romana on charges of insulting and defaming prosecutor José Polanco Ramírez by accusing him on the air of links to drug traffickers. He will have to present himself to the court every 30 days, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF).
When he appeared in court at the start of the trial on May 27, the presiding judge ordered him held for up to three months while the trial continues. It was due to resume on May 31 but was postponed until June 10. Silvestre hosts the programme “La Voz de la Verdad” on regional Cana TV.
“This detention order is tantamount to passing sentence before a verdict has been reached,” Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said earlier. “Pre-trial detention can only be considered when there is a danger that the defendant may try to elude justice. But that does not apply in this case, because Silvestre came to the court of his own volition.
“This effective jail sentence poses a serious threat to press freedom, especially as the country is in the process of making it impossible for people to be sent to prison for the views they express. A bill to this effect was submitted to the National Assembly in September 2008 but has not yet been debated and voted.”
The Silvestre case has shocked the Dominican media. Aurelio Henríquez Mendoza, the president of the Dominican Association of Journalists (CDP), told the press that Silvestre’s rights are being violated. He also reported that Silvestre has been placed in solitary confinement.
