Guasapo TV
Santo Domingo. – Lawyer Richard Martínez, legal representative for Jean Andrés Pumarol Fernández, expressed his concern this Friday regarding the statements made by First Lady Raquel Arbaje concerning the judicial process facing his client, considering that they could be interpreted as pressure on the Court of Appeal, which must decide on the appeal against the dismissal ruling issued in the first instance.
Martínez offered his statements one day after the Second Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District postponed until August 6 the reading of the decision on the appeal filed by the Public Ministry and the representatives of the family of Yolanda Handal Abugabir, who are seeking to revoke the dismissal order issued in favor of Pumarol. The court explained that the postponement was due to the fact that the resolution was not ready due to a technical issue related to its printing.
“That a sentence is postponed is something that can happen in any process. The court alleged that it had a technical issue with the printing of the sentence and it is something that, in any case, can occur,” stated the jurist.
However, he stated that what really worries him is the public statement made by the first lady regarding the case.
“We view with concern the interference of the first lady making public reference to this process, with the aim of pressuring to achieve a favorable ruling for the victims,” maintained Martínez.
The lawyer argued that justice must act independently and that any decision must respond solely to technical and legal criteria.
“A judge has already issued a decision here, and it is independently that the justice system must decide this case,” he stated.
Martínez also reiterated that Jean Andrés Pumarol suffers from a diagnosed mental illness and asserted that this condition is documented in the expert reports included in the case file.
“Jean Andrés Pumarol is a person who is ill, a person who has been diagnosed, and this is stated in the expert report,” he stated.
Likewise, he questioned that, in his view, similar statements have not been made by the first lady in other judicial proceedings with different characteristics and considered that the case should be resolved without external pressures.
The Second Chamber of the Court of Appeals must decide on August 6 whether to confirm the dismissal order issued by the Seventh Instruction Court or to accept the appeals filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the plaintiffs so that Pumarol faces a full trial for the attack that occurred on July 23, 2025, at the Naco Dorado IV condominium, where Yolanda Handal Abugabir died and five other people were injured.
