Santo Domingo.– The Second Collegiate Court of the National District will resume this Monday, at 9:00 a.m., the trial against the former Attorney General of the Republic, Jean Alain Rodríguez, and several co-defendants, accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of being part of an alleged network that embezzled more than RD$6 billion through fraudulent processes executed between 2016 and 2020.
The hearing will continue with the consideration of an incident of extinction of public action presented by Rodríguez’s defense, after the court granted a recess to allow for the preparation of the arguments supporting that request.
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The case is being heard by judges Claribel Nivar, who presides over the court, along with Clara Castillo and Yissell Soto, who granted the defense a two-hour window to present the grounds for their request at the beginning of the hearing.
During the previous session, lawyer Carlos Balcácer argued that the criminal proceedings had exceeded the maximum time limit established by Dominican legislation, which is why he believes the public action should be declared extinguished.
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Prior to the recess, the defense for the accused, Jonathan Loanders Medina Reyes, requested a postponement of the hearing, reporting that their client was experiencing health issues and remained in an emergency area. However, the court allowed the Public Prosecutor’s Office to begin the formal presentation of the indictment corresponding to the trial on the merits for a few minutes before suspending the session.
At the end of the hearing, Balcácer reiterated that, in his opinion, the time elapsed during the investigation and the judicial process justifies the extinction of the criminal action. Meanwhile, Jean Alain Rodríguez stated that he has always appeared before the courts and denied having caused delays in the development of the case file.
For his part, the director of Prosecution of the Public Ministry, Wilson Camacho, maintained that the former attorney general is trying to prevent the trial from advancing because, as he asserted, the prosecuting body has evidence that compromises his responsibility in the investigated facts.
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The judicial process is part of one of the most far-reaching cases of alleged administrative corruption in recent years and will continue this Monday with the court’s decision on the motion raised by the defense and the progress of the presentation of the indictment by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
