20 years since the disappearance of Narciso González a lack of justice persists in the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo and Washington DC, Monday, May 26, 2014. Today, on the twentieth anniversary of the forced disappearance of Narciso González, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) calls on the Dominican State to promptly comply with and implement the Judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court).

Narciso González Medina, or “Narcisazo,” was a renowned university professor, journalist, lawyer and opposition of the dictatorial regimes of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo and Joaquín Balaguer. After reporting electoral fraud in the 1994 presidential elections and signaling out the police chiefs and armed forces as Balaguer’s accomplices, Narciso was forcibly disappeared on May 26, 1994.

In the Sentence issued on February 27, 2012 in the case of González Medina and Family v. Dominican Republic, the IA Court condemned the Dominican State for Narciso Gonzalez´s forced disappearance, as well as for lack of due process and the suffering inflicted on his family and ordered the adoption of important measures of reparation.

“Twenty years since the forced disappearance of the celebrated professor, journalist and lawyer Narciso Gonález, we remember his life and struggle and demand absolute compliance with the Inter-American Court’s case named after him, “said Viviana Krsticevic, CEJIL’s Executive Director. “The State is in debt to his family and the Dominican society. Following the steps taken by the Attorney General, we urge the rest of the State powers to act decisively to know what happened, reveal where Narciso González is and to punish those responsible.”

The measures of reparation ordered by the IA Court include the serious search to finding the whereabouts of Narciso González, a serious, impartial and efficient investigation of the acts and the eventual sentence of those responsible, full reparation for the family, as well as a series of measures to preserve the memory of Narciso González’s life, among others.

In 2013, the Attorney General demanded the reopening of the criminal investigation, taking the first step in the search for justice; nevertheless, the commitment of all state bodies is necessary to guarantee that the investigation continues in a serious, impartial and effective manner to finally close the door to impunity. On the other hand, CEJIL call on the State to incriminate forced disappearance in Dominican legislation as soon as possible, in compliance with international law and adopt any other necessary measure to ensure that events like those in this case never occur again.

For more information:

CEJIL, República Dominicana sigue sin cumplir Sentencia de la Corte IDH. April 3, 2012. (Spanish only)

CEJIL, Corte Interamericana condena a República Dominicana por desaparición forzada Narciso González. April 3, 2012. (Spanish only)

IA Court.  Case of González Medina and Family v. Dominican Republic. Judgment of February 27, 2012. Serie C No. 240. Available here.