‘To persecute any critical voice’: Jailed Guatemalan journalist Zamora’s son on his father’s arrest
When Guatemalan police arrested José Rubén Zamora in July 2022, it marked the latest salvo in a decades-long campaign of harassment against the pioneering Guatemalan investigative journalist, who won CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 1995. Zamora, who founded elPeriódico in 1996 and still serves as president of the newspaper, was arrested on July 29….
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora charged with financial crimes, remains in detention
New York, August 10, 2022–A judge in a Guatemala City court on Tuesday ordered Guatemalan journalist and president of the elPeriódico newspaper José Rubén Zamora to remain in pre-trial detention while prosecutors move forward with a criminal investigation on charges of money laundering, blackmail, and influence peddling. Zamora has been held since he was arrested…
CPJ calls for immediate release of Guatemala journalist José Rubén Zamora
New York, July 30, 2022 — In response to news reports about the arrest of Guatemalan journalist and president of the elPeriódico newspaper José Rubén Zamora, the Committee to Protect Journalists released the following statement on Saturday: “Guatemalan authorities should immediately release and drop any criminal charges against journalist José Rubén Zamora, president of elPeriódico,” said…
Guatemalan official files criminal suit against 3 journalists under violence against women law
Guatemala City, May 18, 2022 — Guatemalan authorities should drop all charges against three journalists from the independent newspaper elPeriódico and stop using laws intended to protect women from violence to target and intimidate reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On May 13, Judge Anaelsee Ramírez formally notified elPeriódico publisher José Rubén Zamora,…
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,…
Guatemalan government targets elPeriódico editor
New York, January 8, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns legal efforts in the past weeks by the president and vice president of Guatemala that are designed to stifle critical reporting by elPeriódico and its editor, José Rubén Zamora Marroquín. Over the course of the past year, the Guatemala City-based daily has published a series…
Guatemalan outlet harassed after critical reporting
New York, May 2, 2013–The Guatemalan news outlet elPeriódico has been targeted in a series of cyberattacks as it published stories alleging corruption in President Otto Pérez Molina’s administration. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to investigate immediately and put an end to the harassment.
Brutally attacked in Guatemala…again
Two days after being abducted and badly beaten in Guatemala, prominent journalist José Rubén Zamora was still in shock. “I can’t remember what happened, but I was drugged and left unconscious in a hospital in the outskirts of Guatemala City,” he told me on Saturday after he was released from the local hospital.His colleagues at…
CPJ alarmed by abduction of journalist in Guatemala
We issued the following statement today in response to Thursday’s abduction and subsequent release of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, a 1995 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award: “We are alarmed by the kidnapping and reported beating of José Rubén Zamora, president of the Guatemalan daily El Periodico. Zamora has previously been the victim…
CPJ concerned about series of recent attacks against journalists
Dear Mr. Cortez: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to condemn a series of recent threats and violent attacks against Guatemalan journalists. With presidential and legislative elections scheduled for November 9, we are concerned that these incidents could multiply, increasing self-censorship among journalists and preventing Guatemalans from engaging in an open and meaningful political debate.