In Santo Domingo, a prominent Dominican digital media platform, Somos Pueblo Media, has launched a formal legal challenge against key provisions of the nation’s newly enacted Penal Code. The outlet, which is led by founders Ricardo Augusto Ripoll García and Eduardo Daniel Sánchez Tolentino, has filed a direct unconstitutionality action with the country’s Constitutional Court targeting Organic Law No. 74-25.
The core of the legal appeal centers on six specific articles of the new penal legislation: Articles 192, 208, 209, 210, 210 and 310. Legal representatives for the outlet argue that these sections run counter to foundational constitutional principles enshrined in the country’s governing charter, and that they unlawfully restrict core civil liberties. The most significant concerns raised center on two critical rights for independent media: the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression, and the public’s right to access government-held information.
The challenge has been brought before the high court with the backing of experienced legal counsel, attorneys Pedro Virginio Balbuena and Francisco Alejandro Aristy. The pair are formally representing Somos Pueblo Media and its leadership throughout the constitutional review process, as the outlet pushes for the contested provisions to be struck from the new penal code. The outcome of this case is widely expected to set a key precedent for press freedom and civil liberties in the Dominican Republic moving forward.