This is INCREDIBLE...

[Texas Bill]

It is something like this that REALLYgets my dander UP!!
I know I'm not in Texas, but if this sort of thing happened there, the WHOLE TOWN would be up in arms, in front of the Sherrif's office, the Mayor's office, phoning the Rangers in Austin, the Governor, their Congressman, their Senator and the President of the USA to do what had to be done ASAP, or suffer the consequences of vigilanty justice.
It just wouldn't be tolerated for any reason.
I know this a different country with different social values, but can't imagine that such an occurance would go unchallanged for any reason, High or Low.

Get out that rope and deliver justice to the guilty if the guv'mt folks won't do anything.

The locals know who the bad ones are.

Just my 2 bits worth.

Texas Bill

 

[Chirimoya]

Marlie - it says that as a result of protests and petitions by Mujer y Salud and the girl's aunts, the Supreme Court chief judge Jorge Subero Isa ordered an investigation into the "alleged negligence by the judges in Barahona province". Meanwhile, Attorney General Radham?s Jim?nez said he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the girl's case as well as her mother's murder.

 

[Chirimoya]

It is something like this that REALLYgets my dander UP!!
I know I'm not in Texas, but if this sort of thing happened there, the WHOLE TOWN would be up in arms, in front of the Sherrif's office, the Mayor's office, phoning the Rangers in Austin, the Governor, their Congressman, their Senator and the President of the USA to do what had to be done ASAP, or suffer the consequences of vigilanty justice.
It just wouldn't be tolerated for any reason.
I know this a different country with different social values, but can't imagine that such an occurance would go unchallanged for any reason, High or Low.

Get out that rope and deliver justice to the guilty if the guv'mt folks won't do anything.

The locals know who the bad ones are.

Just my 2 bits worth.

Texas Bill

In many cases this would happen in the DR as well, TB, but the difference here is that one or more of the attackers may have had enough power/money/influence to intimidate the local judiciary, police and community into silence and inaction.

If CMS hadn't taken on the case, and those two brave, articulate women - the girl's aunts - hadn't been willing to speak out, the whole thing would have probably remained swept under the carpet.

 

[Beads]

This is a truly sad story.

Anyone involved in attempting to cover for the people who did this should rot in jail.

The actual people involved should be publicly executed.

 

[Texas Bill]

This is a truly sad story.

Anyone involved in attempting to cover for the people who did this should rot in jail.

The actual people involved should be publicly executed.

I'll second both of those suggestions!
Those guys are the epitome of uncivilized actions andneed to be treated with all the contempt and vengance that the public and the authorities can come up with.

There is NOTHING that can mitigate their actions.

Texas Bill

 

[MommC]

Same ole,same ole.........

In many cases this would happen in the DR as well, TB, but the difference here is that one or more of the attackers may have had enough power/money/influence to intimidate the local judiciary, police and community into silence and inaction.

If CMS hadn't taken on the case, and those two brave, articulate women - the girl's aunts - hadn't been willing to speak out, the whole thing would have probably remained swept under the carpet.

As most of us know, those that live on the island, This is the way of the world in the DR. Money talks and walks and it is the average person that pays the piper.
There is no rule of law, or justice and the community has become apathetic,discouraged, knowing that protest alone brings next to no results.
Talk to the average citizen about the gov't, the judiciary,the police, the military, the media and they will tell you "They're all the same - nothing will ever change and there is nothing we can do about it".
So they go about their own business, convinced that there is no better future to look forward to.

 

[korejdk]

As most of us know, those that live on the island...

here comes the same old...one is missing the essence of the initial post...

So they go about their own business, convinced that there is no better future to look forward to.

well, it doesn't seem to be the case now...

 

[Lambada]

As most of us know, those that live on the island, This is the way of the world in the DR. Money talks and walks and it is the average person that pays the piper.
There is no rule of law, or justice and the community has become apathetic,discouraged, knowing that protest alone brings next to no results.
Talk to the average citizen about the gov't, the judiciary,the police, the military, the media and they will tell you "They're all the same - nothing will ever change and there is nothing we can do about it".
So they go about their own business, convinced that there is no better future to look forward to.

Which is why, when there IS a victory, as in the case of this child, it should be lauded and applauded. Loudly. I think the speed of reaction by the AG & by Supreme Court's Subero Isa is very, very promising. They are parents too remember. And for anyone who thinks the average Dominican isn't OUTRAGED by this case, please rethink. The people I spoke to today in Puerto Plata, who knew about it, were horrified. Not everyone I spoke to knew about it, but a few more do now.

It is very easy, MommC to get sucked into the apathy, hopelessness, learned helplessness, legacy of the Trujillo years............call it what you will. It also conveniently provides an excuse to stop confronting the wrongs (I'm not saying you do this MommC so please don't take it personally). But I firmly believe that those of us who have been privileged to have participated in an education and not had to spend every waking minute wondering where the next meal was coming from, have the responsibility to acknowledge progress when and where it happens. And today's news IS progress. So hat's off the Mujer y Salud and the aunts! And when I'm next out in Puerto Plata chatting with all and sundry I will be informing them about these two decisions. Maybe others could do the same? Get the word out. Give people hope that intelligent community action works. Challenge the belief that 'there is nothing little old me can do'. There is masses the individual can achieve. The Public Ministry's investigating Fiscal has now been named, by the way. This is really speedy when you consider other cases.
Bienvenidos al Hoy Digital
More here:
Peri?dico 7 D?as

And please don't automatically assume that the investigation will be a whitewash. I would imagine that if it is, Mujer y Salud will spring back into action..............

First the Tavera Santiago enquiry and now this. All very very promising - communities taking effective, intelligent action. I think this trend is GREAT. OK I'll get off the soapbox now .

 

[2LeftFeet]

What is the every day Dominican saying about this case? Are they outraged? Do they think it happened? Are they happy about the protests? Do they think that these people will get prosecuted? What is the overall feeling.

Just curious.

 

[Rocky]

What is the every day Dominican saying about this case? Are they outraged? Do they think it happened? Are they happy about the protests? Do they think that these people will get prosecuted? What is the overall feeling.

Just curious.

Good question, Lefty.
It's too far away from us for anyone to be talking about the case, but had it happened around here, the perps would have been dealt with swiftly.
That's the mystery of this case.
It seems insurmountable that "the alternate justice system" would be non existent in that part of the country, so much so, that I wonder if we are being given all the facts.
We all know how unreliable the news reporting is in this country.
There has to be some viable reason that the locals have not dragged the rapists/murderers out of their houses and stoned them to death.

 

[CarpeDReam]

Marco, I beg to differ - it has EVERYTHING to do with Leonel - I mean the ministry of justice, the pilice chief etc they all respond to them !!!
I am writing to the New York Times about this, let's seee if it leads anywhere.

Didn't read all the posts here, but first of all, what would writing to the NYT do??? and second, I think you should wait and see how this plays out b4 we all go crazy and pointing fingers to people who are not directly involved.

This is a very unfortunate story though and I hope that they are subjected to harsh sentences.

 

[Rocky]

Ps.

PS: Here's a link posted in another thread by Lambada,
Desconocidos cortan pene a turista británico en hotel de Cabarete, PP
where some people attacked a tourist and attempted to cut off his privates.
One might think that the locals near the incident mentioned in this thread, would be having the same thoughts.

 

[suarezn]

I just think we don't really know all the facts here. I'm one of those people who just don't necessarily take someone's word as gospel, specially the media.

I know if this happened in Cotui, someone ( or some people ) would either be in jail or dealt with in some other way, but this wouldn't go completely unpunished...so something is amiss here.

The DR media is just terrible at giving you the complete picture. Take the story about the guy whose penes got severed or injured ( I can't tell what). Here's that story from El Nacional: El Nacional, la voz de todos

When you read it, you'd think the guy was sleeping on the beach when someone tried to cut his penis off. My first thought was how? Was he sleeping naked on the beach?

Now the second story (posted by Rocky) makes somewhat more sense in that is sounds like he was sleeping in his hotel room when this happened. Point is that DR media just gives you these half stories with no context...

 

[Chirimoya]

What is the every day Dominican saying about this case? Are they outraged? Do they think it happened? Are they happy about the protests? Do they think that these people will get prosecuted? What is the overall feeling.

Just curious.

If you look at all the news reports linked in this thread, many of them have readers' comments from Dominicans, including the English language article in Dominican Today - some of the commenters there are Dominican too. I haven't seen one single comment that doesn't express extreme outrage.

I agree with the posters who say there are some strange, untold elements to this story, and that the DR media is hopeless at providing context. This is why I disagree with the 'string 'em up in the central square' comments. The named men should receive a fair trial because being unjustly convicted of a crime like this would be nearly as bad as being the victim.

 

[Rocky]

If you look at all the news reports linked in this thread, many of them have readers' comments from Dominicans, including the English language article in Dominican Today - some of the commenters there are Dominican too. I haven't seen one single comment that doesn't express extreme outrage.

I agree with the posters who say there are some strange, untold elements to this story, and that the DR media is hopeless at providing context. This is why I disagree with the 'string 'em up in the central square' comments. The named men should receive a fair trial because being unjustly convicted for a crime like would be nearly as bad as being the victim of a crime like this.

True enough.
My "string'em up" comments are only applicable to guilty parties.
If there is doubt, then that's a whole other cup of tea.

 

[MommC]

My post was meant as an observation of the realities of life in the DR......

Which is why, when there IS a victory, as in the case of this child, it should be lauded and applauded. Loudly. I think the speed of reaction by the AG & by Supreme Court's Subero Isa is very, very promising. They are parents too remember. And for anyone who thinks the average Dominican isn't OUTRAGED by this case, please rethink. The people I spoke to today in Puerto Plata, who knew about it, were horrified. Not everyone I spoke to knew about it, but a few more do now.

It is very easy, MommC to get sucked into the apathy, hopelessness, learned helplessness, legacy of the Trujillo years............call it what you will. It also conveniently provides an excuse to stop confronting the wrongs (I'm not saying you do this MommC so please don't take it personally). But I firmly believe that those of us who have been privileged to have participated in an education and not had to spend every waking minute wondering where the next meal was coming from, have the responsibility to acknowledge progress when and where it happens. And today's news IS progress. So hat's off the Mujer y Salud and the aunts! And when I'm next out in Puerto Plata chatting with all and sundry I will be informing them about these two decisions. Maybe others could do the same? Get the word out. Give people hope that intelligent community action works. Challenge the belief that 'there is nothing little old me can do'. There is masses the individual can achieve. The Public Ministry's investigating Fiscal has now been named, by the way. This is really speedy when you consider other cases.
Bienvenidos al Hoy Digital
More here:
Peri?dico 7 D?as

And please don't automatically assume that the investigation will be a whitewash. I would imagine that if it is, Mujer y Salud will spring back into action..............

First the Tavera Santiago enquiry and now this. All very very promising - communities taking effective, intelligent action. I think this trend is GREAT. OK I'll get off the soapbox now .

So NOW the people are outraged.......Why were they not outraged a YEAR ago when this happened?
What took so long??? Why wasn't the girl's mothers' murder investigated? Why wasn't there an up-rising at the lack of medical treatment, police investigation back in Feb 2007?

Why should we expect that this 'investigation' will be any different than the thousand others that have taken place over many years?

Do you have any idea of how many pedofiles we have reported to local authorities?? Not one of them has been prosecuted or done more than a day or two in jail!

Apathetic!! Of course there is a lot of apathy shown by the 'average' Dominican......they know if the perp has enough $$$, they have a get out of jail free card.

As for those of us who are not 'native', let me just say that once you have had a pistol shoved in your face by a top ranking official and been told to mind your own business, you tend to do just that!

 

[Chirimoya]

Outraged in Jiman?

Quick translation of release from CMS:

Residents of Jiman? and representatives of several women's organisations from Jiman? and Santo Domingo held a demonstration in front of the Palace of Justice in Jiman? on Tuesday, demanding that the accused should be re-arrested.

They demonstrated their disagreement with the way in which the case was handled and asked the Attorney General and the Supreme Court to intervene in the case so that the guilty do not remain unpunished.

They carried placards and chanted "We want justice". Many of the participants were teenagers and young women, and they showed their anger at the fact that the only person who was arrested had been set free.

The protest lasted for 30 minutes and the deputy prosecutor, Dr. Salvador Bello, received a delegation from the group, standing in for prosecutor Rudi Medrano.

Bello told them that Ernesto P?rez, alias Meneo, had been set free after an order had been received, by means of a telephone call, from a high level that he did not identify, instructing that the accused should be set free. He said that 30 minutes later he received another call from the same authority asking for the re-arrest of the prisoner, but he was not found.

That same day, relatives of the minor made another complaint against Ernesto P?rez (Meneo), who allegedly also raped the girl's seven year old sister.

By this Thursday, Meneo had still not been rearrested, according to the Prosecutor for Jiman?, Rudi Medrano.

 

[Lambada]

'Bello told them that Ernesto P?rez, alias Meneo, had been set free after an order had been received, by means of a telephone call, from a high level that he did not identify, instructing that the accused should be set free. He said that 30 minutes later he received another call from the same authority asking for the re-arrest of the prisoner, but he was not found.'

Unbelievable! I wonder just WHAT is behind all this? Can't just be administrative mind-changing.

 

[MommC]

Something tells me it's going to take more than 30-40

demonstrators to find out!

Dominican justice at it's finest.......:tired:

 

[KeithF]

Chirimoya, as someone following this awful story from a distance, would you clarify, were the photos taken at the demonstration that you posted on the 25th, the same demonstration as you posted a photo of yesterday or was there a second demonstration?