Guatemalan Journalist to House Arrest after 800 days in Jail
A criminal judge ruled that, “for human rights reasons,” the journalist should be granted the measure, and he will be released from prison on Tuesday, October 22.
HAVANA TIMES – A criminal judge in Guatemala granted “house arrest” to journalist Jose Ruben Zamora this Friday. He will be released from prison after spending more than 800 days in a Guatemala City prison, in a legal process filled with irregularities.
Zamora’s request for house arrest was accepted by criminal judge Erik Garcia, who ruled that “for human rights reasons,” the measure should be granted to the journalist.
“To date, for human rights reasons, the duration of imprisonment has exceeded its limits, and we must also consider that Mr. Jose Ruben Zamora has sufficient ties to be granted this type of benefit,” the judge said.
He added, “Consequently, the following substitute measures are granted: house arrest at his residence (…), as well as a prohibition on leaving the country without judicial authorization.”
Additionally, the judge said that immigration authorities would be instructed not to issue him a passport, “given that you are still under a criminal process,” and, due to his economic situation, previously presented by his defense, “no financial penalty will be imposed.”
Zamora was arrested on July 29, 2022, accused of money laundering by the Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office, just five days after making corruption accusations against then-President Alejandro Giammattei.
He will be released from prison on Tuesday, October 22
After reading the sentence, the judge directly asked Zamora, “Do you commit to complying with the substitution measures that have been granted to you?”
“I commit, honorable judge,” Zamora responded.
At the end of the hearing, the audience erupted in applause. The journalist, still handcuffed and without yet knowing when he would be released while formalities were completed, smiled as he addressed the press gathered in the room.
Sources close to Zamora’s family told CONFIDENCIAL that the journalist would be released from prison on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.
The first thing he plans to do is “go home and maybe next week check into a hospital for a couple of days for a check-up,” Zamora said excitedly.
While in prison, the journalist claimed to have lost over 80 pounds, suffered from respiratory illnesses, endured psychological torture, and was forced to live in a cell less than four meters long.
“What’s your view on journalism?” he was asked. “Very costly,” he responded with a smile.
Zamora explained during the hearing that he had faced several assassination attempts and more than 89 complaints, which took him ten years to resolve.
“However, I never fled; the Prosecutor’s Office hunted me for months, and I decided to face this with my head held high,” the journalist said in court, requesting his release during a hearing that lasted more than nine hours.
This ruling comes during the first week of the new Supreme Court’s tenure.
Journalist Jose Ruben Zamora arrives at a court hearing in Guatemala on Friday, October 18, 2024. Photo: EFE / David Toro
Former President Giammattei vs. Jose Ruben Zamora
The Public Ministry accused the journalist of alleged money laundering in a case that was presented just five days after he launched harsh criticism against then-President Alejandro Giammattei for his administration’s corruption.
In that editorial, published in his newspaper El Periódico, Zamora labeled Giammattei and his partner and former official, Miguel Martinez, as “The Fable of the Ogre and the Little Prince Who Wanted Everything.”
Both Giammattei and Martinez have been sanctioned by the United States for corruption, although they have repeatedly denied the accusations.
Zamora, 66, was initially accused of alleged money laundering of $38,000, and in July 2023, he was sentenced to six years in prison. However, an Appeals Court overturned the conviction due to irregularities in the process.
The journalist was granted house arrest in August for one of the cases, but he remained in preventive detention due to two other judicial processes, despite dozens of international and local organizations labeling the accusations against him as spurious.
Attorney Changes Due to Judicial Persecution
According to experts, the judicial process faced by Zamora has been biased, as he had to change defense attorneys at least four times due to the judicial persecution faced by each of them by the Public Ministry, whose top officials are also sanctioned by the United States.
This Friday, the Fundacion Contra el Terrorismo (Foundation Against Terrorism), a far-right military organization, filed a legal challenge to prevent Judge Rodolfo Garcia from conducting the hearing where the journalist could be granted a benefit.
The German ambassador, Hardy Boeckle, attended the trial and showed his support for the journalist, who was also accompanied by his family members.
Zamora won the 2024 Gabo Prize for Journalism Excellence in May, awarded annually in Colombia by the foundation created by writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
El Periodico, the newspaper founded by Zamora, which had to close after his arrest, received the 2021 King of Spain International Journalism Award for Outstanding Media in Ibero-America, as the journalist himself recalled this Friday to show the judge the broad international support he has received.