Independent experts* on Wednesday called on Guatemalan authorities to urgently address allegations of inhumane detention conditions for journalist, newspaper founder and editor José Rubén Zamora, which may amount to torture and put his life at risk.
The Special Rapporteurs** noted that Zamora has reportedly been subjected to nearly twenty months of solitary confinement in near-constant darkness, which amounts to torture. The journalist was arrested in July 2022.
“It is further alleged that he has endured various forms of inhuman or degrading treatment, including sleep deprivation, forced nudity, arbitrary cell searches, and failure to respond to a mite infestation in his cell,” the human rights experts added.
Deterioration of physical and mental health
Reports indicate that these “grim prison conditions” have led to a serious deterioration in his physical and mental health, rapid weight loss and deteriorating eyesight. It has also worsened an underlying neurological disorder of polyneuropathy that he suffers from.
Experts have therefore expressed concern that Zamora, aged 67, has not received adequate medical treatment for his physical and mental conditions, putting his life at risk.
“Like all persons deprived of liberty, he has the right to be treated with dignity and humanity. The reported conditions that José Rubén Zamora has experienced would violate the absolute prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” they said.
Right to due process
The rapporteurs expressed concern about alleged violations of their rights to due process and reported irregularities in judicial proceedings.
“We are also concerned that the charges against him are related to his work as an investigative and anti-corruption journalist and that such tactics create a chilling effect on other journalists in the country, preventing them from exercising their right to report freely and without fear of reprisals,” they added.
The group raised the issue directly with the Republic of Guatemala.
* The experts who signed the statement: Alice Jill EdwardsSpecial Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Irene Khan,Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right to health; Morris Tidball-BinzSpecial Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Claudia Mahlerindependent expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons; Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
** Experts are part of what is known as Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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