Former Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez Sanchez is demanding that state prosecutors stop using the Medusa word to name the corruption case against him. The former chief prosecutor is also demanding a public apology and that all online links where the Medusa word is used in connection to his name be removed.
The Jean Alain Rodriguez Sanchez legal counsel filed a writ of amparo before the Superior Administrative Court. He seeks the court order the Public Prosecutor’s Office to formally proceed to a public apology and withdraw from all media the name Medusa when referring to the alleged corruption acts Rodriguez Sanchez is charged with.
The petition for a writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.
Rodríguez understands that the term “medusa” is derogatory and stigmatizes those who are mentioned in connection with it, according to criminal lawyer Carlos Balcácer.
The appeal also requests the court to order the Specialized Prosecution for Administrative Corruption (PEPCA) and the Attorney General’s Office to pay a fine of RD$50 thousand for each day of delay in the execution of the requested sentence.
The Judge of the Third Chamber of the Superior Administrative Court fixed a hearing for the request for 15 February 2022.
A 2020 Constitutional Court ruling could help decide this case. On 17 June 2020, the Constitutional Court issued judgment TC/0171/20 in a case brought by Editorial Acento, which has established a legal precedent. What is true and what happened does not need to be erased by the media. What was erroneously reported needs to be erased when it is proven that what was published is incorrect.
The former Attorney General was sent to preventive custody in the Najayo Jail for 18 months in July 2021. He is charged with multiple criminal acts for his handling of the Attorney General Office (PGR) from 2016 to 2020. The prosecutors are looking into major irregularities in the operation of jails and the construction of the Nueva Victoria Jail.
In an interview with Diario Libre, the former Attorney General defended his construction of the Nueva Victoria Jail and his implementation of the National Prison Humanization Plan.
Read more:
El Caribe
Diario Libre
Noticias SIN
Diario Libre
El Nuevo Diario
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Constitutional Court
9 February 2022