"A Facebook account named “Melvin Veum” launched a paid advertising smear campaign on Monday, April 14, that used the logo of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to legitimize false narratives against Guatemalan journalist Quimy de León, director of independent news website Prensa Comunitaria and recipient of CPJ’s 2024 International Press Freedom Award. The post […]
Several national and international organizations, as well as journalists and individuals known for their defense of the freedom of expression, have expressed solidarity and condemnation of a systematic campaign of attacks and threats against the journalists of Prensa Comunitaria and cofounder Nelton Rivera. The attacks have primarily occurred on social media and represent an attempt […]
“The Supreme Court of Guatemala rejected this Thursday [March 27] a legal appeal by the defense of journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín to reverse the resolution that sent him back to a military prison in the Central American country on March 3. The Supreme Court decided to reject the appeal filed by the 67-year-old journalist […]
"A group of 10 international organizations submitted an amicus curiae brief to Guatemala’s Supreme Court in the case of journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín. The brief, filed on March 26, argues that Zamora’s return to preventive detention constitutes a violation of his fundamental rights under Guatemalan and international law, and urges the Court to grant a pending amparo appeal […]
“The Guatemalan Red Cross reported an armed attack in the village of Santa Fe, Coatepeque, [department of] Quetzaltenango, last Friday, March 21. The victim was identified as Ismael Alonzo González, a journalist and member of the Association of Journalists and Communicators of the Southwest (APSCO, by its acronym in Spanish). According to preliminary investigations, the […]
"On March 10, Guatemala’s Second Court carried out an order from the Third Court of Appeals, sending journalist José Rubén Zamora back to pretrial detention after his house arrest was revoked. According to the Attorney General’s Office, Zamora must return to prison 'immediately.' " 'The judge had no choice. The court arbitrarily ordered this. Despite […]
“On March 4, the Third Chamber of the Court of Appeals annulled all actions taken since October 2024 by Judge Erick García, who had granted house arrest to journalist José Rubén Zamora in his second criminal case. According to the court’s ruling, all proceedings by Judge García since October 17, 2024, are void, citing ‘procedural […]
The full bench of magistrates from the Chamber of Injunctions and Preliminary Proceedings from Guatemala’s Supreme Court has rejected a temporary injunction requested by prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity. The request aimed to reopen a criminal investigation against journalists and columnists who worked for the now-defunct newspaper elPeriódico, founded […]
On Friday, Feb. 7, Milton René Polanco Orellana, president of the Jutiapa Journalists Association, was reported missing. Family members said that when they went looking for him at his home in the Santa Bárbara neighborhood, they found the interior of the residence destroyed. Read full article [in Spanish]
“ARTICLE 19 is expressing concern over stigmatizing and intimidating actions by Guatemalan government officials, particularly from the Public Ministry and congress as journalists Marvin Del Cid and Sonny Figueroa carried out their reporting. Recently, the digital outlet Vox Populi investigated the use of a vehicle by Congress President Nery Ramos, and the refusal of Special […]
“Guatemalan journalists Marvin Del Cid and Sonny Figueroa have been the subjects of harassment in recent weeks, the organization Artículo 19 reported. The attacks intensified after the Del Cid and Figueroa published an article about media outlets spreading disinformation in Guatemala. They also escalated following the release of a video showing someone photographing the two […]
“On Monday [Jan. 13], Guatemala's Supreme Court granted an amparo to Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora that suspends his re-entry into prison, as an appeals court had ordered last November. Zamora was released from prison in October 2024 after almost two years serving a six-year sentence for money laundering that was later annulled. A judge […]