The Inter-American Press Association (SIP) reiterated its complaint to the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, for the case of the journalist and director of The newspaperJosé Rubén Zamora, who has been in jail since July 29, 2022.
The IAPA urged the Public Ministry, through a statementto “adhere to legality, transparency and due process,” and reported that he sent a letter on behalf of the IAPA president, Michael Greenspon, and the president of the organization’s Freedom of the Press and Information Committee, Carlos Jornet, in which they inform the Guatemalan president about “the irregularities in the judicial process against Zamora.”
In addition, they insist on his commitment to guarantee freedom of the press and expression, by signing the Declaration of Chapultepec in 2015.
Likewise, they regret not having met with the Head of State during the Society’s mission to Guatemala to convey their concern about the case.
“During that visit, we warned about irregularities that we detected in the judicial process and that we made known in our conclusions. We remark then, before the country’s authorities and the Public Ministry, that ‘the government must end legal and judicial harassment,’ a situation that we continue to observe with the recent accusations against Zamora’s lawyers,” the letter says.
The IAPA also referred to recent accusations against Zamora’s lawyers, noting that during their visit to Guatemala they asked the government to “end the legal and judicial harassment” of the journalist.
Thearrest of Zamora Morroquín It is due to an investigation against him for alleged crimes, including money laundering, influence peddling, and solicitation and conspiracy to launder money, according to the Guatemalan Public Ministry.
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