José Rubén Zamora, founder of ‘El Periódico’ in Guatemala, is sentenced to six years in prison

The Guatemalan journalist, considered one of the main critics of the Government of Alejandro Giammattei, He will go to prison for six years after being convicted by a three-judge panel in a money laundering case. The process has been pointed out for being marked by irregularities and has been under the scrutiny of international entities.

The ruling was criticized by the special prosecutor, Rafael Curruchiche, who raised his voice to make it clear that his group of lawyers will appeal the decision and seek that Zamora be sentenced to 40 years in prison, as originally requested.

“I am innocent of the crimes. I am still innocent and he (Giammattei) is still a thief,” Zamora said after hearing the sentence. The document also reported that he was acquitted of the crimes of blackmail and influence peddling of which he was accused.

“All my rights were violated, including the right to defense. They treated us like animals, they destroyed evidence.”he added, alluding to the fact that several of his defense lawyers were arrested during the pre-trial period.

According to their statements, four of their lawyers were charged and prosecuted by the Prosecutor’s Office and two others were forced to go into exile from the country due to various threats.

The Eighth Sentencing Court of the Judicial Branch of Guatemala argued its ruling: it explained that the testimonies delivered with the probative material showed that “the journalist simulated a commercial transaction to give a legal appearance to an amount of 300,000 quetzales (38,000 dollars), whose origin was not determined.” so the court fined the communicator for the same amount of money.

The determination came after 40 days of public oral debate in the courtroom of the judicial body. The place was packed with journalists and human rights defenders.

José Rubén Zamora, founder of the investigative newspaper ‘El Periódico’, published journalistic works in the media in which he denounced alleged cases of corruption and bribery of President Giammattei. The contents were published before July 26, 2022, when he was captured.

The newspaper was known for being widely independent and for publishing investigations and reporting on alleged corruption in the administration of the current president and his predecessors.

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Several of the works have been internationally awarded and applauded by entities from all over the world. But with external pressures they were forced to be arrested.

On November 30, ‘El Periódico’ assured that it “was forced” to stop publishing its print edition due to financial difficulties. A few months later, on May 15 of this year, the news outlet completely shut down its operations.

Indeed, the Prosecutor’s Office argued that the monetary issue and the newspaper’s lack of liquidity served as the scenario for the alleged money laundering of the journalist.

The court explained that Zamora would have delivered the $38,000 to former banker Ronald García Navarijio so that he could write him a check for that amount and thus be able to add it to an account at ‘El Periódico’, in order to pay the pending wages of his workers.

His quality as an actor in affecting the economy and financial system of Guatemala was accredited, because the defendant failed to prove the legal origin of the money, assured the vocal judge Hugo Otto Valvert.

On June 21, the Eighth Sentencing Court will hold the reparation hearing against Zamora Marroquín.

A process under international scrutiny

In the midst of a general criminal process that lasted for at least 10 months, international organizations, activists, and human rights entities pointed to those in charge of doing justice in this case.

The Inter-American Press Association (SIP) warned that there were irregularities in the criminal process and according to the most recent report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, published in 2022, in Guatemala there is “a ddeterioration of the conditions for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression”.

The agency documented an increase in intimidation and harassment against journalists, as well as attacks against their physical integrity and defamation.

Last month, the Guatemalan Association of Journalists reported that at least 20 journalists have been forced to flee the country In recent years, and following Wednesday’s ruling, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the legal proceedings against Zamora.

“The sentence is shameful and is part of the Giammattei government’s attempts to criminalize journalism. This definitely erodes press freedom in Guatemala,” argued Carlos Martínez de la Serna, CPJ program director.

“Guatemalan officials must put an end to the absurd farce of criminal proceedings against him. It is time for José Rubén Zamora to be released, because his only ‘crime’ has been the intrepid exercise of his profession,” he added.

In May, Nine international organizations defending press freedom and human rights carried out an observation mission in Guatemala to speak with journalists and find out, first-hand, what the situation was with regard to their safety due to the work they do.

According to the report, published in Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the conclusion of the mission is that not only the media and those who work in them are being violated, but also “the citizenry that must be informed to make decisions freely and consciously.”

“In Guatemala, a system of intimidation, silencing and restrictions on the free exercise of journalism is intensifying. In a context in which only 16% of the population, according to the recent survey of Free Presstrusts the Supreme Electoral Tribunal as an institution that guarantees a democratic electoral process, such restrictions on the press can further affect the credibility of the result of the scrutiny”.

In the report, the organizations state that “the criminalization of José Rubén Zamora and other journalists from ‘El Periódico'” are just one example of the system that they described as “repressive” and that constantly sends intimidating messages to the press in general.

With EFE, AP and local media