The Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI) of the Public Ministry of Guatemala requested on Tuesday 40 years in prison for the journalist José Rubén Zamora for alleged money laundering, influence peddling and blackmail. He also requested payment of a fine of 300,000 quetzales (about $38,200).
Also, the Prosecutor’s Office requested 8 years in prison for the former prosecutor Samari Gómez for the crime of revealing confidential or reserved information.
During the trial, which is in the conclusion phase, prosecutor Cinthia Monterroso assured that Zamora, from the defunct elPeriódico, sought to hide the origin of just 300,000 quetzales.
In addition, he said that it can be “inferred” that the advertising advances received by the newspaper could be the product of “extortion” and “blackmail.”
It also pointed out that the journalist committed “contempt for authority” against Consuelo Porras, Guatemala’s attorney general, and Rafael Curruchiche, head of the FECI, sanctioned by the US government for, according to Washington, obstructing the fight against corruption.
Zamora, 66, was president of elPeriódico, a media outlet that closed in mid may this year after operating for almost 30 years.
The journalist, who has been in jail for ten months, has been awarded prizes such as the Maria Moors Cabot from Columbia University, the International Press Freedom Award and the World Press Freedom Hero Award from the International Press Institute.
Zamora was accused by the prosecutor’s office after Ronald Navarijo, a friend of his and a merchant, said that Zamora had asked him to deposit 240,000 quetzales (about $30,000) in cash in a bank.
Zamora’s defense maintains that the journalist sought support from Navarijo so that he would not be the one to enter the money into the banking system since it came from a donation and would be used for payments by the media.
The case, which has not yet been sentenced, has gained the attention of the US government and countries of the European Union, who have warned about a deterioration of the Rule of Law and the criminalization of officials of the Judiciary, human rights defenders, opponents and journalists.
During the government of Alejandro Giammattei, in Guatemala, at least 35 justice operators, activists, journalists and opponents have gone into exile.
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