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Alert

IAPA welcomes Supreme Court ruling on Listín Diario case

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is an 8 September 2004 IAPA press release:

IAPA welcomes end to Listín Diario receivership

MIAMI, Florida (September 8, 2004) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today welcomed the fact that due process has been respected in regard to the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, newspaper Listín Diario. A ruling by the Dominican Republic Supreme Court ended the more than 16-month official receivership of the company that publishes "Listín Diario" and ordered that it be restored to its owners.

The company, Editora Listín Diario, which publishes Listín Diario and other newspapers that were shut down for financial reasons, was placed in official receivership in May 2003, together with television station RNN and some 60 radio stations, amid allegations of financial wrongdoing by its owners through the Banco Intercontinental (Baninter) bank. One of the first actions taken by the receivers appointed by the government was the closure of the other newspapers published by the company - Ultima Hora, El Financiero and El Expreso.

Dominican Republic Attorney General Francisco Domínguez Brito said that the restoration of Listín Diario does not imply that his office has halted criminal proceedings against the newspaper's principal owner, Ramón Báez Figueroa, on charges of fraud committed through his bank, Baninter.

Rafael Molina, chairman of the IAPA's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, said that the IAPA had in this case consistently come out in favor of transparency in the administration of justice and supported the complaints made by the owners of Listín Diario.

"The ending of the official receivership of Listín Diario contributes to the reign of the democratic spirit in the Dominican Republic, because under no circumstances is it good for governments to take possession of news media, as they could succumb to the temptation of using them for their own benefit," Molina added.

The Supreme Court issued its ruling on Monday, ordering that the Editora Listín Diario company be restored immediately to its owners - a process that was completed the following day.

Restoration of the newspapers in the group to their owners had already been ordered by a lower court in July 2003, on the grounds that placing them in receivership was unconstitutional. In April of this year, the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Appeals Court upheld the lower court's ruling, which was held in abeyance pending the Supreme Court decision.