Santo Domingo. - Discrimination and massive expulsion against Haitians, denunciation of aggressions by law enforcement agencies and violence against women are Amnesty International’s (AI) main concerns on Dominican Republic, its report for 2007 says, presented Tuesday in London.

AI says last year the massive expulsions continued –which it said are illegal- of Haitian migrant workers and Dominican people of Haitian origin “for the fact of being black”.  It reports mistreatment by immigration officials during deportations and the security forces deployed along the Dominican-Haiti border.

The report cites the case of a minor who - according to denunciations- was detained in Santo Domingo on January, 2007, together with four other minors by four Immigration officials, and were allegedly beaten. The arrest took place although the minor was of Dominican origin, it said.

"Exchanges of gunfire" and violence against women

AI said between January and August  2007 204 people died in this type of  incident, a lower figure compared with the same period in 2005, when 345 people died in that manner.

The report says 57 law enforcement agents died in that same period, although "concern continues form the fact that several of these shootouts resulting in death could have been illegitimate"

 As far as violence against women, the entity says there is concern with the number of cases submitted to the authorities, which reached 1,080 just in April, 2007, whereas in the first six months that year 43 women died at the hands of their ex partners.