Dominican Republic's New Penal Code Clarifies Free Speech, Digital Crimes and Creates Oversight Commission

Dominican Republic Penal Code Yeni Berenice Reynoso free speech digital manipulation oversight commission

President Luis Abinader signed Decree 507‑26, formally promulgating a new Penal Code that introduces more than 70 new offenses and updates provisions on defamation, digital manipulation and other crimes. The code reduces the maximum prison term for defamation to one‑to‑two years and maintains up to five years for the creation or dissemination of falsified digital images that harm a person's honor.

Procuradora General Yeni Berenice Reynoso clarified that the code does **not** criminalize memes, caricatures, parodies, satire or other artistic, journalistic or humorous expressions, stressing that only conduct expressly defined as punishable may be sanctioned. Senate President Ricardo de los Santos confirmed that cockfighting remains legal under Law 248‑12 and is unaffected by the new code. An oversight commission, chaired by former constitutional court president Milton Ray Guevara and including jurists and journalists, was created to monitor implementation. Civil‑society groups, the business council CONEP and the medical union Unión Médica del Norte all met with the procuradora general to discuss the code’s impact on their sectors.

Entities: Conep (Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada) · Dominican Republic · Executive Branch of the Dominican Republic · Luis Abinader · Milton Ray Guevara · National Congress of the Dominican Republic · Revised Criminal Code of the Dominican Republic · Ricardo de los Santos · Yeni Berenice Reynoso

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 4 SOURCES] President Luis Abinader signed Decree No. 507‑26 on 27 July 2026 to promulgate a new Penal Code for the Dominican Republic. (c215ec7e-9eff-433c-806a-2f8ab3f7a5f3, 4269b334-2a7f-4936-aedd-aa818074496f, 351770e6-e0a3-4d95-a14b-0769ac7ffcbf)
[● 3 SOURCES] The new Penal Code adds more than 70 new criminal types, covering digital crimes, gender‑based violence and organized crime. (c215ec7e-9eff-433c-806a-2f8ab3f7a5f3, 4269b334-2a7f-4936-aedd-aa818074496f)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Senate President Ricardo de los Santos said that cockfighting is not prohibited by the new Penal Code and remains regulated by Law 248‑12 on animal protection. (d37b3758)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The medical union Unión Médica del Norte held a conference with the Procurator General to analyse the new Penal Code’s impact on medical practice. (b50ba594)
[● 5 SOURCES] Procurator General Yeni Berenice Reynoso met with the business coalition Conep to discuss dissemination and implementation of the new Penal Code. (d9e899c7, d647ef6d, 6484e5ce, 72af6c67, 098a3cf0)
[● 2 SOURCES] An oversight commission was created to monitor the new Code, chaired by Milton Ray Guevara and including jurists and journalists. (c215ec7e-9eff-433c-806a-2f8ab3f7a5f3, 351770e6-e0a3-4d95-a14b-0769ac7ffcbf)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The new Penal Code replaces a century‑old Napoleonic‑era legal framework. (28b43cca)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The anti‑corruption NGO ADOCCO backed the creation of the oversight commission for the new Penal Code. (351770e6)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The new Penal Code retains imprisonment of up to five years for creation or dissemination of digitally manipulated images or audio that harm a person's honor, reputation or privacy. (a371a72a-a09e-41b9-b4af-3deb307c3be9)
[● 4 SOURCES] Civil‑society groups, the business council CONEP and the medical union Unión Médica del Norte held meetings with Procuradora General Yeni Berenice Reynoso to discuss the new Penal Code's impact on the (b50ba594-bd80-4425-9a8c-7dd59aebddc2, 098a3cf0-0c34-4349-b993-050f75915f73, d647ef6d-d486-42b0-881a-a557552908a3, 6484e5)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Senate President Ricardo de los Santos clarified that cockfighting is not prohibited by the new Penal Code and remains regulated by Law 248‑12 on animal protection. (d37b3758-76f4-4b8d-a8de-4be021b77f3a)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The new Penal Code reduces the maximum prison term for defamation to one‑to‑two years. (a371a72a-a09e-41b9-b4af-3deb307c3be9)