Representative Ramón Raposo submits a bill to eliminate articles from the Penal Code that penalize criticism of public officials

Santo Domingo.- The national deputy of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Ramón Raposo, submitted a bill in the Chamber of Deputies with the purpose of modifying and eliminating several articles of the new Penal Code, for considering that they violate fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, demonstration and the empowerment citizen. The legislative initiative proposes the repeal of article 310 of Organic Law 74-25, which establishes the new Penal Code, which contemplates penalties of up to one year in prison for any citizen who utters words, threats, sends writings, images, objects or makes offensive gestures against a public official or servant. In addition to the prison sentence, the regulations impose a fine equivalent to three minimum wages, calculated according to the salary earned by the affected official.

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Raposo also proposes the elimination of Article 311, which stipulates that the insult of officials be prosecuted by public action at private instance. Likewise, the project includes modifications to articles 157, 192, and 386 of the Penal Code, which punish with imprisonment citizens who obstruct authority vehicles, harangue against the government, or share an image without authorization. The legislator assured that the National Congress must thoroughly review the new regulations in the remainder of the year. “We cannot allow criticism, protest, or any form of legitimate citizen expression to be criminalized,” said Raposo, highlighting the widespread rejection that these articles have generated in public opinion.