Citizens support 18-month pre-trial detention for those accused in the Senasa case

Santo Domingo.– Citizens consulted this Monday expressed their support for the court’s decision to impose 18 months of preventive detention on several of those accused in the Senasa case, considering that the measure responds to the seriousness of the accusations of alleged administrative irregularities in the past management of the National Health Insurance. During a poll conducted in the National District, those consulted described the accused as “abusers” and expressed their outrage at the alleged irregular handling of public funds allocated to health.

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Some visibly upset citizens stated that “prison will be too small for them,” referring to the social impact that, they claim, the imputed acts had on the most vulnerable population. For many citizens, the judicial decision sets an important precedent in the fight against administrative corruption. “When you touch the money of health, you play with people’s lives. This cannot go unpunished,” expressed the student Daniel Leiva, one of those consulted. Another person consulted pointed out that the court’s decision “should have been made a long time ago”, understanding that the accused “took advantage of a system that should protect the poorest”. “That is unforgivable, that is pure evil”, he affirmed.

The Coercive Measure

The Permanent Attention Office of the National District ordered on Sunday night the preventive detention of Santiago Hazim and six other defendants, in addition to declaring the process as a complex case, accepting the request of the Public Ministry. Those who must comply with the measure at the Najayo Men’s Rehabilitation Center are: Santiago Hazim, Rafael Luis Martínez Hazim, Gustavo Enrique Messina Cruz, Germán Rafael Robles Quiñones, Francisco Iván Minaya Pérez and Ramón Alan Speakler Mateo. Meanwhile, Ada Ledesma Ubiera will serve the coercion in Najayo Women, both centers located in the province of San Cristóbal. Also, the court imposed house arrest, a ban on leaving the country, and a financial guarantee of one million pesos on Cinty Acosta Sención, Heidy Mariela Medina, and Eduardo Read Estrella, after, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, these defendants admitted to having received bribes and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.