Amnesty International today declared journalist José Rubén Zamora a prisoner of conscience and demanded that the authorities of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary release him immediately and unconditionally.
“José Rubén Zamora is being persecuted for exercising his right to freedom of expression in the context of his work as a journalist investigating and denouncing corruption. Unfortunately, José Rubén Zamora is yet another victim of the strategy of political persecution being pursued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary. He must not spend a single day more in prison; his ordeal must end immediately,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.
On July 29, 2024, the 67-year-old investigative journalist, founder of the newspaper El Periódico, will have served two years in the Mariscal Zavala military prison. He was arrested on July 29, 2022 at his home in Guatemala City and has since been held in pretrial detention, accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of money laundering. On June 14, 2023, a court found him guilty and sentenced him to six years in prison. However, in October of that same year, the Appeals Court overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial, which has not yet taken place. In addition, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has brought two more criminal proceedings against him, including on charges of obstruction of justice and use of falsified documents.
In March 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared José Rubén Zamora’s detention arbitrary and called for his release. In July, his lawyers sent an urgent communication to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, drawing her attention to the conditions of his detention, including events that could constitute acts of torture and cruel and inhuman treatment.
Amnesty International has documented numerous violations of José Rubén Zamora’s human rights, including the right to personal liberty due to his arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial. Violations of his right to a defense have been documented, including harassment of his lawyers, the right to be tried by an independent and impartial court, and numerous undue delays and delaying tactics, among others.
José Rubén Zamora is a prominent Guatemalan journalist who has won several international awards. The baseless criminal proceedings against him are part of a wider politically motivated prosecution of justice workers and human rights defenders who have fought against corruption and impunity, as documented by Amnesty International.
“The prolonged arbitrary detention and baseless criminal proceedings that José Rubén Zamora is facing are not only violations of his human rights. They are also a deliberate strategy to curtail the freedom of expression of all people in Guatemala. It is imperative that the Guatemalan authorities immediately release José Rubén as part of their human rights obligations”, added Ana Piquer.
Background
Amnesty International’s prisoner of conscience determination is based on the information available to Amnesty International regarding the circumstances leading to the person’s detention. In naming a person a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International is affirming that the person must be immediately and unconditionally released but is not endorsing their past or present views or conduct.
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