Nineteen international civil society organizations issued a statement Friday demanding due process guarantees at a key hearing for Guatemalan journalist Jose Rubén Zamora. The hearing is scheduled for October 18.
The organizations, including Amnesty International, Article 19 and the Committee to Protect Journalists, expressed deep concern over reports of human rights violations and threats to judicial independence in Zamora’s case. The organizations stated: “At least 10 lawyers who have taken up Zamora’s defense have been forced to abandon the case due to external pressures. Some have even faced unjust criminal proceedings leading to their imprisonment, as reprisal for their efforts on behalf of the journalist.” The civil society groups further highlighted that the substitute judge appointed to preside over Friday’s hearing has faced stigmatization on social media and a criminal complaint, which they view as attempts to exert undue pressure.
The hearing will review the pre-trial detention order for Zamora, a 67-year-old veteran journalist and the founder of the now-defunct newspaper El Periódico. Zamora has been imprisoned since July 29, 2022, on charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice. The journalist was a vocal critic of former President Alejandro Giammattei’s administration and was arrested shortly after publishing corruption allegations against Giammattei.
The legal situation surrounding Zamora’s detention is complex. He is currently embroiled in two distinct legal cases, each with its own pre-trial detention order. While a court decision in August 2024 altered the terms of one detention order linked to alleged financial crimes, Zamora remains behind bars due to a second, unrelated pre-trial detention order. It is this second order that will be the focus of Friday’s court proceeding.
Zamora’s case has been widely seen as an attack on press freedom in Guatemala. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention classified Zamora’s detention as arbitrary and called for his immediate release in July. International experts have also raised concerns that the conditions of his imprisonment in Guatemala City’s Mariscal Zavala prison could constitute torture and cruel and inhumane treatment.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo, who took office in January 2024, criticized the prosecution’s handling of Zamora’s case. In a July 31 social media post, Arévalo stated: “The imprisonment of [Zamora] is a clear example of the corruption and abuse of power that prevails in the Public Ministry, which insists on criminalizing him and sustaining a process fraught with inconsistencies.”
Human Rights Watch also reported broader concerns about press freedom and human rights in Guatemala, stating that authorities, often acting in coordination with some business leaders, have undermined the rule of law and weakened human rights guarantees in the country. On August 1, 2024, Amnesty International declared Zamora a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate and unconditional release. Americas Director at Amnesty International Ana Piquer stated: “José Rubén Zamora is being persecuted for exercising his right to freedom of expression in the context of his investigative journalism work and denouncing corruption.”
The civil society organizations are urging that Friday’s hearing be conducted with full guarantees of independence and impartiality, ensuring strict compliance with due process requirements. The outcome of this hearing could have significant implications for press freedom and the rule of law in Guatemala.
