“To mark the two years of the unjust imprisonment of journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder and president of the now-defunct newspaper elPeriódico, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) renews its call to Guatemalan judicial authorities to end their persecution against him and order his immediate release. Roberto Rock, IAPA president and director of the Mexican […]
“The Committee to Protect Journalists supports the urgent appeal filed to U.N. officials by an international legal team on behalf of Guatemalan investigative journalist José Rubén Zamora, who the appeal says has been wrongfully imprisoned since 2022 and held in conditions ‘that amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.’ The appeal, sent […]
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, who has been imprisoned for more than 700 days, expressed his gratitude for the Gabo Foundation’s Recognition of Journalistic Excellence through an audio message and a letter, during the Gabo Award ceremony on Friday, July 5, in Bogotá, Colombia. "Never, ever, have I felt such warm and nurturing company and […]
"The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers that the detention of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, held for more than 700 days in a military prison in Guatemala City, is arbitrary and violated six articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and therefore requests the Government of that country to adopt the […]
"The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has joined eight other press freedom organizations in urging Guatemala’s leaders to address the concerning decline in the country’s press freedom and its significance for democracy. In a statement issued ahead of the meeting between Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, March 25, […]
“This Monday, March 18, the Third Court of Appeals rejected the request of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI, for its acronym in Spanish) to annul the resolution of the Fifth Criminal Court that closed the case against several journalists and columnists of elPeriódico, judicial sources reported. With that appeal, the FECI intended to […]
“A Guatemalan judge suspended the hearing [on Feb. 21] in which it was to be decided whether journalist José Rubén Zamora goes to a second trial for allegedly obstructing an investigation against him for which he was already sentenced to six years in prison. The head of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Corruption, Rafael Curruchiche, […]
“The public prosecutor's office insists on persecuting journalists, while President Bernardo Arévalo assures that his government 'believes in freedom of the press.' According to the Association of Journalists of Guatemala (APG, for its acronym in Spanish), around 25 journalists are in exile due to censorship, attacks or persecution. In this adverse context, the conviction against […]
"The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Pedro Vaca, visited journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín this Monday [Feb. 12] in a prison in Guatemala, where he has been detained since July 29, 2022. According to the IACHR, Rapporteur Vaca is in Guatemala at the invitation of the […]
“Dressed in a black suit, wearing a white shirt and a red tie, this Monday, Feb. 5 journalist José Rubén Zamora attended the opening hearing of the trial against him for the alleged crime of conspiracy to obstruct justice. […] However, the hearing was suspended and postponed to Feb. 20. The reason is that the […]
“A criminal judge in Guatemala found three members of the National Civil Police (PNC, for its acronym in Spanish) guilty this Wednesday [Jan. 31] for the illegal detention of journalist Norma Sancir in 2014. The sentencing judge Jorge Ochoa, of the department (province) of Chiquimula, about 155 miles from Guatemala City, convicted the three police […]
"A joint mission of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is visiting Guatemala City this week to assess press freedom conditions in the country following the inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo. [...] The main goal of the mission is to address the difficult situation and numerous challenges faced […]