Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder of El Periódico, was released from prison on Saturday after spending more than two years behind bars in pre-trial detention. Zamora, who has been a vocal critic of government corruption through his investigative reporting, was transferred to house arrest after a court ruling determined that his preventive detention had exceeded legal limits. He was being held as charges of money laundering, blackmail and influence peddling are investigated.
The decision to release Zamora to house arrest came after Judge Erick Garcia Alvarado ruled on Friday that Zamora’s detention had surpassed the legally permitted duration. The judge emphasized that, for human rights reasons, Zamora could no longer be held in preventive detention. Although his release is a relief for Zamora’s family and supporters, he remains under house arrest, and legal proceedings against him continue. Zamora is also barred from leaving Guatemala, with his passport kept under judicial custody. The appeal hearing for the money laundering case has been postponed to September of 2025.
Despite his conditional release, Zamora’s legal battles are far from over. He is also facing separate charges of obstruction of justice and falsification of his signature on immigration ballots. His path to full freedom depends on the outcomes of both cases. Zamora has maintained that the charges against him are retaliation for elPeriódico’s critical investigations into government corruption under former President Alejandro Giammattei.
Zamora, 68, had been imprisoned since July 2022, under charges of money laundering related to approximately $38,000, with the charges widely seen as politically motivated. His imprisonment was marked by allegations of mistreatment, including psychological torture, isolation, and unsanitary conditions, sparking outcry from international human rights organizations. Over the last two years, Zamora’s case attracted widespread attention, with groups like Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International calling for his release and denouncing the flawed legal process.
“This is another form of detention,” RSF’s director of campaigns Rebecca Vincent remarked. “While Zamora will not be behind bars, he is still arbitrarily deprived of his liberty. We will continue to campaign for his full and unconditional release.”
As President Bernardo Arévalo, inaugurated earlier this year, celebrated Zamora’s release on social media, many hope this signals a shift towards greater press freedom in Guatemala. However, international observers stress that justice has not yet been fully achieved in Zamora’s case.
