Trust deficit: ‘The goal was to silence me’
Prensa Comunitaria knows first-hand the risks of covering environmental issues and powerful economic interests. In August 2017, authorities in the eastern Izabal department issued arrest warrants for seven individuals, including two of the news website’s indigenous journalists: Carlos Choc and Jerson Xitumul Morales.
Guatemalan journalist Bryan Guerra shot dead in Chiquimula
New York, March 6, 2020 — Guatemalan authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of journalist Bryan Guerra, determine if it was related to his journalism, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Guatemala elections 2019: Journalist safety kit
Guatemala is scheduled to hold presidential and congressional elections on June 16. The Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas reported increased violence against the press during the country’s 2015 elections. Journalists have told CPJ they are being attacked and harassed, especially online, over their coverage of corruption, or reports on President Jimmy Morales and…
Guatemalan minister uses law preventing violence against women to silence critical journalist
A Guatemalan judge on July 17, 2018, approved a court order allowing a government official to sue journalist José Rubén Zamora for psychological violence and discrimination, and barring Zamora from writing about the official under a law created to prevent violence against women, according to a CPJ phone interview with Zamora on July 19, 2018,…
Journalist, radio worker found dead in Guatemala
New York, February 7, 2017–Guatemalan authorities should conduct a swift and credible investigation into the murders of a newspaper journalist and radio station worker, establish motives, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Guatemala arrests lawmaker accused of plotting 2 journalists’ murders
New York, January 16, 2018–The arrest of a lawmaker accused of plotting the murders of two journalists in 2015 is an important step against impunity in Guatemala, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Guatemalan authorities arrested Congressman Julio Juárez Ramírez, who allegedly ordered the attack that killed Danilo López and Federico Salazar, near his…
CPJ calls on Guatemala’s attorney general to release immediately and drop all charges against Jerson Antonio Xitumul Morales
CPJ calls on Guatemala’s attorney general to release immediately and drop all charges against Jerson Antonio Xitumul Morales, a journalist currently detained in the province of Izabal.
Record number of journalists jailed as Turkey, China, Egypt pay scant price for repression
For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers–Turkey, China, and Egypt–into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser
