Juan Bolivar Diaz, veteran journalist and news director of TeleAntillas (channel 2) in Santo Domingo, was convicted of libel and slander by Judge Juan Maria Severino on 19 June, and sentenced to six months in prison with a fine of RD$200 and payment of RD$3,000,000 in damages. The conviction comes after Generoso Ledesma filed a civil suit against Mr. Diaz stemming from the accused’s book “Trauma Electoral”, which contains assertions that Mr. Ledesma headed an advertising agency that channeled funds from the state electricity utility to the campaign of President Balaguer in 1994. On 20 June, the Attorney General of the National District, Dr. Julio Cesar Castaños Guzman, appealed against the sentence, calling it “abusive and excessive”. During the hearings in Judge Severino’s court, Mr. Diaz and his lawyers left the courtroom several times claiming that they were not given the opportunity to make their arguments, and on more than one occasion the judge did not postpone the hearing during the absence of the accused. Deliberating for an hour and a half in his chambers after hearing the closing argument of Mr. Ledesma’s lawyers, Judge Severino gave his verdict.
Adverse reactions to the sentence have come from almost all sectors of Dominican society. Most journalists have publicly criticized the hearings and the conviction, while both presidential candidates have publicly condemned the verdict. The case, which involves Mr. Diaz’s book on alleged election fraud in 1994, has been said to have political overtones.