By: Staff Writer
June 16, 2023
The founder of El Periódico newspaper in Guatemala, a paper that routinely reported on the alleged corruption involving President Alejandro Giammattei and his allies, has been jailed for six years.
José Zamora has been convicted of money laundering in a Guatemalan court this week, charges which he still denies and that his supporters claim to be a crackdown on free speech and journalism in the country.
During the high-profile trial in capital Guatemala City, the state prosecutor’s office sought a sentence of 40 years for the respected journalist.
Outside court, Zamora said he was “still innocent” of the charges against him, and that his wife had been forced into exile in the US over fears she might also be targeted by President Giammattei’s government.
Civil rights groups say Wednesday’s court’s ruling is the latest erosion of democracy in the impoverished Central American nation – just days ahead of a general election in which four opposition candidates have been disqualified.
They also point to what they describe as growing authoritarianism under Mr Giammattei’s rule.
According to Zamora’s son, Juan Carlos Zamora, in an interview with Democracy Now, the charges have morphed from mere civil violations to criminal, “because that allows them to have these trumped-up charges on money laundering, and that allows them to have an arrest warrant, to arrest a journalist and place him in jail. And it really changes everything. And it allows them to say, under this democratic façade, that it’s not about journalism, that it’s not about press freedom, but it’s about a criminal. So, it allows them to continue to attack the credibility of a journalist, but it also allows them to neutralize him, if you put them in prison. And it’s a very clear message to all other journalists in the country that they can come after anybody who continues to denounce corruption.”
President Giammattei has denied the accusations.
Zamora was arrested last July – a move that was soon followed by police raids on El Periódico’s office and his home in Guatemala City.
Zamora’s daily El Periodico was internationally acclaimed for its investigative reporting exposing corruption, including alleged cases linked to the current president Alejandro Giammattei, whose justice system has targeted independent journalists, lawyers and human rights activists.
El Periodico was forced to shut in May, and eight of its journalists – two columnists and six reporters – are under investigation for alleged obstruction of justice linked to their reporting of the case against Zamora.
Zamora was represented by a recently appointed public attorney – his ninth defence lawyer since being arrested more than 10 months ago. Four of his attorneys were jailed on what independent legal experts have condemned as “spurious” charges, while two others fled the country to avoid a similar fate.
At least 20 journalists and dozens of former anti-corruption prosecutors and independently minded judges are currently in exile amid a crackdown on anyone considered by the current administration to be aligned with the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) – the UN anti-corruption agency expelled in 2019.
The money-laundering charge stems from Zamora receiving a donation from a businessman and friend to keep the newspaper running, rather than depositing the cash and cheques himself. The court rejected Zamora’s claim that the donor wanted to keep his support discreet, in order to avoid being targeted by Giammattei.
“All my rights have been violated … the evidence that would prove my innocence was rejected and my lawyers jailed, denying my right to a defence,” said Zamora in his final comments before sentencing, vowing to take the case to the Inter American Court of Human Rights.
The journalist still faces two other criminal cases, including one filed just days earlier pertaining to allegedly mismatched signatures on customs documents.
Giammattei has denied that the current wave of prosecutions are politically motivated.