Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora sentenced to 6 years in prison

Journalist José Rubén Zamora, president of the newspaper El Periodico, arrives handcuffed and under police escort a court in Guatemala City, on June 14, 2023. (AFP/Johan Ozdonez)

On Wednesday, a Guatemala court convicted José Rubén Zamora, president of the elPeriódico newspaper, on money laundering charges and sentenced him to six years in prison.

The journalist’s son, Jose Carlos Zamora, told CPJ that they intend to appeal the conviction.

“The shameful conviction and imprisonment of Guatemalan journalist Jose Rubén Zamora serve as a stark testament to the erosion of freedom of speech in the country and the desperate attempts of President Alejandro Giammattei’s government to criminalize journalism,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York. “Guatemalan officials must end the absurd charade of criminal proceedings against him. It is time for José Ruben Zamora to be released, for his only ‘crime’ has been the fearless exercise of his profession.”

Zamora has also been recently charged with the crime of using false documents. He has been in pretrial detention since July 29, 2022. Alongside him, eight elPeriódico journalists and columnists are also under investigation for obstructing justice due to their coverage of the legal proceedings.

CPJ: Biden administration must press India prime minister on media freedom during visit

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in Sydney, Australia, in May 2023. (AP Photo/Dean Lewins)

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. from June 21 to 24 and meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, CPJ called on the U.S. government to urge India to end its media crackdown and release the six journalists arbitrarily detained in retaliation for their work.

“Since Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014, there has been an increasing crackdown on India’s media,” said CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg. “Journalists critical of the government and the BJP party have been jailed, harassed, and surveilled in retaliation for their work. India is the world’s largest democracy, and it needs to live up to that by ensuring a free and independent media–and we expect the United States to make this a core element of discussions.”

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Journalists Attacked

Dom Phillips

MURDERED

British freelance journalist Dominic “Dom” Phillips went missing on June 5, 2022, during a reporting trip in the Brazilian Amazon with Indigenous issues expert Bruno Pereira. Their burned and buried remains were found with gunshot wounds later that month.

Phillips and Pereira were both killed the morning they went missing. They had been traveling to interview local residents and others for research on a book Phillips was writing. Three people have been charged with their murder.

Learn more about Phillips