A judge of the Third Penal Chamber of the National District (DN) granted a habeas corpus petition and released from jail two men held for questioning in the case involving the 1994 disappearance (and presumed murder) of law professor Narciso Gonz?lez ("Narcisazo"). Judge Ram?n Horacio Gonz?lez P?rez ruled that the judge in charge of the Narcisazo investigation, Judge Eduardo S?nchez Ortiz, had not demonstrated sufficient grounds for the two men to be held in prison during their interrogation. He therefore released Air Force General Leonardo Antonio Reyes Bencosme and his former aide, Colonel Manuel C. P?rez V?lquez (P?rez V?lquez also was then-President Joaqu?n Balaguer’s pilot at the time of Narcisazo’s disappearance). A similar petition seeking the release of former Armed Forces Minister General Constantino Matos Villanueva was put off until April 6th. Narcisazo, a vocal critic of President Balaguer, was rumored to have been picked up by agents of Air Force’s (FAD) A-2 Intelligence group just before his disappearance, so the investigation initially focused on FAD officials past and present. Recently it has branched out to other sectors of the Dominican security establishment.
