“The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed today [Jan. 22] its concern about the implications for press freedom and confidential sources of information posed by a recently approved law in the Dominican Republic.
The regulation, enacted on Jan. 15 by President Luis Abinader, bears the number 1-24, and regulates the National Intelligence System and the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI, in Spanish). The government claims that the law ‘represents an important step in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, cyber threats, and corruption,’ providing the ‘necessary legal tool,’ as stated by the Presidential spokesperson in a statement.
Local organizations representing the media and journalists, such as the College of Journalists and the Dominican Society of Newspapers, criticized the ambiguity of some articles in the law and warned about possible negative impacts on press freedom, the right to privacy, and professional secrecy.”
