SANTO DOMINGO. – Siblings Antonio and Maribel Espaillat were released on the afternoon of Friday, June 20, after authorities executed the order issued by Judge Fátima Veloz . Early Thursday morning, Judge Veloz imposed a RD$50 million bond and a travel ban against the couple, whom the Public Prosecutor's Office accuses of involuntary manslaughter, attributing to them negligence that led to the roof collapse on April 8 of this year, which left 236 dead and more than 180 injured.
The court ruling also imposed periodic reporting requirements for the businessmen, while the case was declared complex.
The court's decision was issued in the courtroom of the First Collegiate Court of the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva, National District. Lawyers representing approximately 80 plaintiffs were present at the hearing.
The Espaillat brothers were in the holding cell located on the fourth floor of the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva, waiting for their lawyer, Miguel Valerio, to complete the process of paying the corresponding percentage of the economic guarantee through a contract with an insurance company.
They were arrested by the Attorney General's Office (PGR), after appearing last Thursday, June 12, at the Prosecution Directorate of the Public Ministry to be questioned about the events that took place at the Jet Set nightclub, an establishment owned by both brothers.
Espaillat appeared around 2:00 p.m. before the Directorate of Persecution to be questioned by the director of that agency, Wilson Camacho, along with Maribel.
They will appeal the ruling
The Public Prosecutor's Office declared, following the judge's ruling, that it will appeal the coercive measures imposed on the defendants. The head of the Public Prosecutor's Office's Directorate General of Prosecution, Wilson Camacho , described the decision by Judge Fátima Veloz, of the Permanent Attention Services Judicial Office of the National District, as "a mockery of the victims ." Judge Veloz had granted the defendants bail, required them to appear periodically in court, and prohibited them from leaving the country.
“We believe that the court did not properly assess the magnitude of the damage that these events have caused to Dominican society; but, above all, the damage that it represents for 235 people who died, more than 180 people who were injured, and more than 130 children who were orphaned as a result of this conduct and as a result of the behavior of Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, who put their economic interests above the interests of the people who were there, those who regularly went to that nightclub,” he added.
