The Clooney Foundation for Justice has posted a piece regarding the trial of José Rubén Zamora, another example of the state criminalising someone seeking to shine a light on corruption within the Guatemala system. This is as part of their TrialWatch initiative.
Award-winning Guatemalan journalist and Founding Director of El Periódico, José Rubén Zamora, was arrested on July 29, 2022 and has been in detention ever since. On the day of his arrest, the authorities also raided El Periódico’s offices, and held eight employees for over 16 hours. Zamora faces a range of charges, including money laundering, “influence peddling,” and blackmail. He faces up to 34 years in prison if convicted of all charges. Zamora has written extensively about human rights violations and corruption in Guatemala. His reporting has garnered multiple international awards, including the María Moors Cabot Award from Columbia University, the International Press Freedom Award, and the International Press Institute’s World Press Freedom Hero Award.
The American Bar Association Center for Human Rights will monitor the trial on behalf of the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch initiative.
El Periodico is an independent news outlet known for reporting on corruption and human rights violations. Zamora’s arrest occurred just five days after El Periódico published a story titled ‘the Fable of the Ogre and the Little Blue Prince who wanted everything’. This was an allegorical commentary on the relationship between the Guatemalan President and a prominent businessman, which said that the Ogre wanted “to accomplish his promise of offering the country as a gift to the little Prince.” Zamora’s son has also suggested that the case might be retaliation for a 2021 El Periódico investigation into the Guatemalan President’s role in a business deal with Russia.
You can read the full piece, with links, and a Spanish version, here TrialWatch to Monitor Guatemalan Journalist’s Trial.
Categories: Accompaniment, Corruption, Criminalisation, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Justice, Legal, Solidarity in Action, Violence
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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