The Listín Diario headline story today tells that President Hipólito Mejía instructed Attorney General Virgilio Bello Rosa to in the name of the Dominican state revoke any action or claims for damages against former President Salvador Jorge Blanco (PRD/1982-86) and others judged as part of the same anti-corruption in government case. President Mejía says that Jorge Blanco "was a victim of political persecution unprecedented in Dominican history." He is referring to the judgment against Jorge Blanco, Manuel Antonio Cuervo Gómez, Juan José Rodríguez Ortiz, Leonel Almonte and Juan Tomás Peña Valentín issued in 1991 by then judge Juan María Severino. The case is pending in the Court of Appeals of Santo Domingo. At the time, the former President was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The former President and others were sentenced to pay RD$73 million in fines and to indemnify the state with DR$24 million.
