The Public Ministry (Attorney General Office) ordered the second time arrest of the Claro technician who they are investigating related to the e-voting failures that caused the suspension of the municipal election. As reported, Manuel Regalado Martínez was arrested and sent to the forensic office to assess physical harm he suffered during his previous arrest for investigation. Regalado was kept under arrest for the 48-hours without charges. He was arrested at 11:30pm on Sunday, 16 February and released on midnight on Tuesday, 18 February. He was arrested again on Wednesday, 19 February.
In an interview with investigative journalist Alicia Ortega on Wednesday, 19 Feruary, he told of how he had been kept with his hands handcuffed to his back in isolation when not in questioning by the state prosecutors during his first 48-hour arrest.
He called the questioning a “witch hunt not a search for the truth but to find someone to blame”. He said he was not brought to explain, but was questioned as a person who had conspired and caused damages in the voting system. He said they were looking to be able to blame him.
Regalado Martínez was arrested after the leaking of a Whatsapp chat he had sent to a security officer assigned to Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) revealing leads that could lead to irregularities into the election. He said he is scared. He thanked Claro for the support the company has had with him in this ordeal.
Regalado Martínez said he could not give details to the press because he had to safeguard his life and that of his family in the process. He said he is a pawn and the weakest point in the process. The Police and Attorney General are accusing him and Colonel Guzmán Peralta of being collaborators in the alleged plot against the election. The president of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) stated on Sunday, 16 February 2020 the election was sabotaged because they were winning.
The National Police says it has information on the alleged ties between the security officer of Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), Colonel Ramón Antonio Guzmán Peralta and Regalado Martínez.
Follow the story in Spanish:
YouTube
Diario Libre
El Dia
Diario Libre
Hoy
20 February 2020