National District Prosecutor, Yeni Berenice Reynoso, has warned that she will not allow preventive custody to be lifted in the case of those on trial for the murder of the former rector of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) Mateo Aquino Febrillet, which took place on 11 March 2016.
She said that all of the delays and postponements in the case had been instigated by the lawyers of Blas Peralta, Rafael Herrera Pena, Geraldo Felix Bautista Mena and Franklin Alejandro Venegas Rivas, which is why proceedings in the case had been postponed back 14 times for the preliminary hearing.
Reynoso spoke on Thursday 16 March. Those accused have now completed one year in jail on remand as handed down by Judge José Alejandro Vargas. She asked them to be kept in jail until the trial is over as requested by the widow and daughter of the deceased.
However, yesterday, Monday 13 March, the lawyer of Blas Peralta said that as the year of coercive measures comes to an end this week, he would possibly request that his client be released from jail. He acknowledged, nevertheless, that while the Dominican Penal Code says that preventive custody in jail should not last longer than 12 months, this does not automatically mean the accused would be released at the time.
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