A court hearing in Guatemala began on Tuesday a controversial money laundering trial against the owner of a newspaper critical of the governmentwho faces a 20-year prison sentence and whose detention has sparked allegations of attacks on freedom of expression.
José Rubén Zamora, owner of The newspaper and in prison since last July, he is accused by the prosecutor of money laundering and blackmail, charges he claims are a retaliation for dozens of publications on corruption in the Guatemalan government.
“The court declares oral and public debate open,” announced its president, Oly González, at the start of the trial in the presence of Zamora, who wore a dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie.
“I am a political prisoner and have been treated as such,” Zamora told reporters upon arriving at the courthouse. It’s safe: “In this trial they will convict me.”
The accusation
According to the indictment, the 66-year-old communicator is involved an alleged plot to launder $37,500 this would come from blackmailing businessmen not to publish information against them.
But press associations and international NGOs are calling for the charges against Zamora to be dropped, while the United States expresses its concern attempt to “criminalize” the work of journalists in Guatemala.
“We believe that the Guatemalan judicial system has become the repressive arm that tries to suffocate and strangle to those who try to tell the truth, to those who investigate”, declared the president of the NGO Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA), Carolina Jiménez Sandoval a few days ago, at the end of a visit to Guatemala.
Zamora holds the case against him It was created by the president Alejandro Giammatteiand the attorney general, Consuelo Porras, which has been denied by the government and the prosecutor’s office.
The journalist declared himself “calm” and willing to ask for his release in international bodies if he is convicted in this trial, which could last a few weeks.
The Guatemalan Criminal Procedure Code mandates money laundering sentences ranging from six to 20 years’ imprisonment without commutation.
Zamora was arrested amid a wave of arrests of former anti-corruption prosecutors on the orders of the Guatemalan prosecutor’s office, whose head has been included by Washington since 2021 on a list of persons involved in acts of corruption or undermining democracy in Central America.
The newspaper It has received several awards, including Outstanding Media at the King of Spain International Journalism Awards 2021.
pressures
The Public Prosecutor’s Office claims to have as evidence the telephone interceptions and the cash that Zamora allegedly gave to a banker, investigated in another case and then he became a witness against the owner of the newspaper.
Two weeks ago two lawyers were arrested who defended the owner of El Periódico in the preliminary investigation phase. accused by the prosecutor of perjuryand on Thursday journalist and businessman Juan Carlos Marroquín, a cousin of Zamora, was caught in the same case.
On February 28, a judge ordered the opening of a second trial against Zamora, for allegedly attempting to stop a money laundering investigation in 2021. In addition, the magistrate suggested investigating journalists and newspaper columnists for alleged obstruction of justice .
The judge’s decision resulted in the United States expressing your concern” for the case of Zamora.
“Criminalizing the work of journalists and civil society undermines democratic norms and respect for freedom of expression,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price.
It is “a clear attempt by prosecutors to intimidate and harass to an investigative outlet and to journalists who work tirelessly to expose corruption,” Carlos Martínez de la Serna, director of programs for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said in New York.
Most of the cases against former prosecutors are for alleged abuse of authority in anti-corruption investigations conducted jointly with the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CIGIG), a United Nations-linked entity that operated in the country between 2007 and 2007. 2019.
AFP agency
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.