Santo Domingo.– The senator for San Juan, Félix Bautista, proposed this Wednesday that crimes related to the exercise of freedom of expression and the right to information be decriminalized in the Penal Code reform bill, so that custodial sentences are replaced by economic sanctions.
During his speech in the Senate, the legislator maintained that several countries in the region, such as Argentina, Panama, Peru, and Nicaragua, contemplate economic sanctions and, in some cases, community service for these cases, instead of prison sentences.
Bautista also cited the recent statements by the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Leah Campos, who stated that “freedom of expression is not just a legal protection. It is the oxygen of democracy,” while highlighting its importance in ensuring public debate, accountability, and the strengthening of democratic institutions.
The congressman recalled that the 2010 Constitution of the Dominican Republic enshrines freedom as a fundamental right in several of its articles, including Article 49, which recognizes the right of every person to freely express their ideas, opinions, and information without prior censorship.
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In that sense, he stated that the protection of freedom of expression is essential for exercising criticism, denouncing acts of corruption, overseeing public officials, developing journalistic investigations, and guaranteeing free elections, as well as the formation of an informed public opinion.
Likewise, he valued the creation of a bicameral commission, proposed by the President of the Senate, to analyze the observations on the Penal Code reform bill and open a consultation process with different sectors of society.
During his presentation, Bautista also referred to the arguments of jurist Cristóbal Rodríguez, who believes that the reform must guarantee essential principles of democracy, such as legal certainty, the legality of penalties, freedom of expression and information, and respect for the principle of bicameralism.
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Rodríguez also proposes eliminating ambiguous or imprecise criminal categories related to defamation, slander, and insulting public officials, considering that they could conflict with the constitutional rights of freedom of expression and information and with the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic.
