Suspect in 5 killings seeks release

A MAN ACCUSED  of torturing and murdering five kidnapped people,  has filed a motion for dismissal of the case under the new accusatory rules.

The victims were students killed in  the cellar of a house in La Chorrea while their parents, Chinese business people received demands for kidnap money.

Their bodies were covered with lime and buried under the cellar floor.

Fifteen days after the accusatory penal system went into effect, Gilberto Ventura Ceballos has filed the first motion seeking a dismissal of the case against him.

He is accused of the kidnappings and murdering between 2010 and 2011.

He filed the motion for dismissal under article 240 of the criminal procedure code, which allows people who are detained prior to their trial to request their release.

Attorney Rogelio Cruz said that his client has been in jail for almost five years without a trial, which is a violation of his human rights.

Lawyers consulted on the subject ensure that the case will not qualify for the new rules because the charges were filed under the old system reports La Prensa.

But they agreed the final decision will have to be made by a judge.

Other accused from the Dominican Republic have accused National Police officers of involvement in the crime.

Families of the victims have struggled for five years to see justice done.