On May 2, José Rubén Zamora, president of the Guatemalan newspaper elPeriódico, begins his trial on charges of money laundering, blackmail and influence peddling. The journalist was arrested on July 29, 2022 following the complaint of a witness and after the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor's Office gathered, in just 72 hours, the evidence used to justify his arrest.
ElPeriódico has been highly critical of the current administration of Guatemala, although the Public Prosecutor's Office of that country assures that it is not prosecuting the journalist as such, but as a businessman.
The arrest of Zamora, the main financial backer of the newspaper, prevented the newspaper from continuing with its print edition since last December, and forced it to lay off 80% of its staff.
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