Landmark case; Dominican Republic ‘citizen’ of Haitian descent charged with forgery

Santo Domingo.- The Central Electoral Board (JCE) on Tuesday filed charges against a man who goes by the name of William Medina Ferreras, who sued the country before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) at a hearing in Mexico in October, when he allegedly used forged documents to pose as a Dominican.

The hearing in Mexico unleashed a wave of rebuke against Dominican Republic across the Caribbean, where several regional leaders slammed the country as racist and xenophobic.

JCE president Roberto Rosario and other officials filed the criminal complaint at the National District Office of the Prosecutor, and said the person and accomplices face imprisonment. "We decided to file charges in this case since this person, as far as we know, has no domicile in the country."

After the hearing, the man of Haitian origin who goes by the name of William Medina Ferreras said he decided not to return to the Dominican Republic, where it has become a landmark case.