On October 19, Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora was released from prison and placed under house arrest, a judicial measure for which his defense had fought arduously. The former editor of the newspaper El Periódico served more than 800 days behind bars and, for a long time, in solitary confinement.
Zamora is accused, among other things, of allegedly laundering money and he was sentenced to six years in prison. Journalists and press freedom organizations have argued that his case is politically motivated and represents a serious attack against the right to freedom of expression and investigative journalism by the government of former president Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024) and by prosecutor Consuelo Porras. Porras is currently facing heat after her name appeared on the US government’s Engel list, which includes people who allegedly promote corruption and anti-democratic values.
Last October, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Freedom House, and other human rights organizations declared that “The measures taken by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, under the command of Consuelo Porras and the FECI have been disproportionate at all times, out of the ordinary and without providing clear evidence. This is an evident repressive strategy against Zamora’s critical voice and journalistic work, including the investigations of former president Alejandro Giammattei. Zamora’s journalism, which accumulates more than 30 years of experience, has focused on making visible and informing, mainly, the networks of corruption and impunity internalized in the Guatemalan State.”
After his brief release, Zamora expressed his emotion for the judicial decision “I feel thrilled. The support from the world’s independent press and other organizations has been exceptional.” However, Zamora warned of possible retaliation: “I think they are going to [imprison] me again…If they are going to bring me back [to prison] I am going to wait for them in my house again and I am going to come here again. I think these actions are wearing them down, not me”.
Zamora’s “premonition” came true last Friday when a Court of Appeals revoked the house arrest measure. “The order of substitutive measures is revoked in its entirety […]. It is ordered that the defendant José Rubén Zamora Marroquín return to the same condition he was in on August 26, 2024,” reads the court’s resolution.
CPJ said that, “The decision is a new blow to press freedom in Guatemala.”
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo declared his condemnation of the decision of the national courts “Once again they are seeking to return José Rubén Zamora to prison in a completely abusive and arbitrary manner. Our judicial system is being put to the test and the people of Guatemala have been clear in demanding respect for the practice of journalism. Any resolution that threatens freedom of expression is illegitimate. From the Government of Guatemala, we will take all measures to defend freedom of expression.”
For its part, the Attorney General’s Office (PGN) announced that it will file a writ of amparo against the judicial decision that would send Zamora back to prison: “The State of Guatemala is organized to ensure the maximum validity and fullness of the rights of the people and its effectiveness depends today more than ever on the actions of the Courts of Justice. Regarding Zamora’s pretrial detention, PGN has pointed out the imminent implications of international condemnation of the State of Guatemala for the prolonged and unjustified pretrial detention of Zamora, which could even amount to arbitrary detention. It has also emphasized the obligation of the Courts of Justice to carry out the control of conventionality in their resolutions.”
