233. The Constitution of the Dominican Republic, at Article 8(6), provides that "every person may, without being subject to prior censorship, freely state his or her thinking by the written word or by any other means of expression, either graphic or oral." This right is predicated on not assaulting the dignity or morality of persons or the public order or the moral conventions of society.107

234. Article 13 of the American Convention establishes freedom of expression, indicating that:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice.108

235. The Convention also states that the right to freedom of expression cannot be subject to prior censorship and cannot be restricted by indirect ways or means, such as abuse of official or private controls of newsprint, radio frequencies, or any other means, aimed at impeding the communication of ideas and opinions.109

B. Freedom of expression

236. Freedom of expression, dissemination of thought, and freedom of press are generally respected in the Dominican Republic. This is contributed to by the existence of a large number of radio stations, television towers, national daily newspapers, and periodical publications, and growing numbers of users of the Internet.

237. During its on-site visit, the Commission met with representatives of the press and television, who indicated that despite the broad array of information media in the Dominican Republic, the freedom of press was limited by the attitude of public officials of not wanting to provide the data requested of them, and on some occasions they went so far as to prohibit the entry of reporters into hospitals, prisons, and other official places, with no legal reason for doing so.110 As denounced to the Commission, this was the so-called "culture of concealment," and "unlawful appropriation of public information."

238. According to complaints lodged with the Commission, in 1996 journalist Juan Bol�var D�az suffered judicial persecution111 in the wake of the publication of his book, "Trauma Electoral," in which he sets forth an account of the irregularities that marked the May 1994 presidential elections. This persecution took the form of a trial in absentia before the Seventh Criminal Court of the National District, which convicted him and sentenced him to six months in prison for defamation and slander. The decision sparked a major public protest. Mr. D�az appealed and was released in late 1996.112 The Commission has insisted that freedom of expression cannot be fully realized in the climate of fear and insecurity that is brought about by the persecution of journalists.

239. In January 1997, the Government ordered that 15 interview programs and talk shows be shut down on five radio stations, Novel 93, Radio Bonao, Radio 91, Onda del Yuna, and Latina 88.7, in the city of Bonao in the Cibao valley. The official communication stated that the programs were suspended because their producers lacked authorization from the National Commission of Public Entertainments and Radiophony.113

240. The Colegio Dominicano de Periodistas noted that according to the applicable provisions of law, its members and the graduates of schools of social communication did not have to be announcers to produce radio and television programs, nor did they have to have an official card issued by the Commission on Entertainments. The Colegio de Periodistas indicated that the acts of the Government violated Law 6132 on free expression and dissemination of thought. Two days later the authorities allowed the programs to resume broadcasting.

241. In March 1997, the Attorney General of the Republic described as pernicious the journalistic account that overstated the crime situation in the country, and threatened to enforce the Code for the Protection of Minors to prevent sensationalist and harmful publications.114 The Commission has not received any information according to which this was done.115

242. The newspapers freely reflect independent points of view, and those of the opposition. Nonetheless, as the Commission was told, although journalists work in a relatively tolerant environment, there is a certain self-censorship for fear of reprisals, which range from loss of influence to loss of employment.

243. During the press conference that the Commission gave on the conclusion of its on-site visit, in June 1997, it indicated that the media revealed the existence of a lively debate, and were fully free to exchange ideas on the consolidation, expansion, and strengthening of human rights institutions and provisions.

244. In effect, the Commission has observed that freedom of expression and thought are respected, in general, in the Dominican Republic.

245. Access to information is an essential requirement for individuals to be able to learn of and respond to actions taken in the public and private sectors. Therefore, the Commission recommends that the Dominican state adopt measures that make possible a broad exchange of public information, including the state offices forwarding information to the communications media on issues that affect the population.