The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) was a signatory, among many others, of a Joint Statement demanding due process at the review of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora’s detention.
19 international civil society organisations demand due process at the review of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora’s detention due on Friday 18 October 2024. A Guatemala City court will consider the request for revision of pre-trial detention order issued against journalist Zamora. He has been unjustly imprisoned since 29 July 2022. We, the undersigned organisations, express our deep concern regarding the violations of his human rights and the new threats to judicial independence.
Since being appointed to preside over the hearing on Friday the 18, the substitute judge has faced stigmatisation on social media and a criminal complaint, intended to exert undue pressure. This kind of intimidation is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader, deeply troubling trend of criminalisation targeting those implicated in politically motivated prosecutions. This tactic is frequently deployed against human rights defenders, journalists, judicial officers and others. They, like Jose Rubén Zamora, have courageously taken a stand in the fight against impunity and corruption.
At least 10 lawyers who have taken up Zamora’s defence have been forced to abandon the case due to external pressures. Some have even faced unjust criminal proceedings leading to their imprisonment, as reprisal for their efforts on behalf of the journalist. These alarming incidents, combined with a series of irregularities, unjustified delays, and the absence of credible evidence, have severely tainted the criminal proceedings against Zamora and violated his rights to a defense, to the presumption of innocence and to a fair and impartial trial.
You can read the full statement, with signatories, here, International organizations demand due process guarantees at key hearing for Jose Rubén Zamora’s release.
Categories: Accompaniment, Corruption, Criminalisation, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Justice
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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