CPJ, partners demand a fair hearing for Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora
The Committee to Protect Journalist and 18 other civil society organizations called on Guatemalan authorities to respect the independence of the judiciary at an October 18 hearing over the release of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora from pre-trial detention. The statement highlights a “deeply troubling trend” of criminalizing and intimidating human rights defenders, including Judge Rodolfo…
Two years behind bars: CPJ calls for José Rubén Zamora’s immediate release
São Paulo, July 29, 2024—Marking the second anniversary of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora’s detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists renews its calls for President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration to free Zamora without further delay. “For two years now, José Rubén Zamora has been behind bars in horrific conditions, despite a court order for a retrial,”…
Urgent appeal to UN says journalist José Rubén Zamora was tortured, should be freed
Mexico City, July 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists supports the urgent appeal filed to U.N. officials by an international legal team on behalf of Guatemalan investigative journalist José Rubén Zamora, who the appeal says has been wrongfully imprisoned since 2022 and held in conditions “that amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading…
UN group says detention of Guatemalan journalist Zamora violates international law
Mexico City, July 2, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s Monday declaration that the continued imprisonment of Guatemalan investigative journalist José Rubén Zamora is arbitrary and in violation of international law. CPJ echoes the group’s call for Zamora’s immediate release. “The U.N. Working Group’s acknowledgment of José…
CPJ urges Guatemalan authorities to release José Rubén Zamora, allow fair trial
Update: A Guatemalan court ordered on May 15 that José Rubén Zamora be released to house arrest to await trial in the first of three cases against him. He was not immediately released as decisions remained pending in the other two cases. Mexico City, May 14, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls upon Guatemalan authorities…
‘Severe fair trial violations’ reported in José Rubén Zamora’s case
Mexico City, February 5, 2024—A report released Monday by TrialWatch assigned a failing grade to the legal proceedings in the trial of award-winning Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, citing numerous breaches of international and regional fair-trial standards and concluding that the prosecution and conviction of Zamora are likely retaliatory measures for his investigative journalism. The…
CPJ to hold press conference on José Rubén Zamora and Guatemala’s criminalization of journalists
Washington, D.C., July 21, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) will hold a press conference on Wednesday, July 26, to mark the one-year anniversary of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora’s imprisonment. Speakers will include Zamora’s son and a Guatemalan journalist in exile. Zamora, founder of the independent investigative newspaper elPeriódico, was arrested on July 29,…
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora convicted of money laundering, sentenced to 6 years in prison
Guatemala City, June 14, 2023–In response to the Wednesday, June 14, conviction of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora on money laundering charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The shameful conviction and imprisonment of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora serve as a stark testament to the erosion of freedom of…
Guatemalan newspaper elPeriódico closes under government pressure
New York, May 15, 2023—In response to the announcement that the independent Guatemalan newspaper elPeriódico would cease online publication on Monday, May 15, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The decision of the elPeriódico newspaper to cease publication is the result of the President Alejandro Giammattei administration’s judicial and financial harassment of…
CPJ calls for Guatemala to halt investigation into elPeriódico journalists
Guatemala City, February 28, 2023 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday called on Guatemalan authorities to stop any investigation of columnists and employees of elPeriódico newspaper, release its president José Rubén Zamora unconditionally, and allow the newspaper’s staff to work freely. Judge Jimi Bremer, acting on a request by prosecutor Cinthya Monterroso of…