Guatemalan court orders release of journalist jailed for nearly 2 years on money-laundering charges
7 months, 1 week ago

Guatemalan court orders release of journalist jailed for nearly 2 years on money-laundering charges

LA Times  

Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder of El Periodico newspaper, arrives for a court hearing in Guatemala City on Wednesday. A Guatemalan court ordered the release Wednesday of journalist José Rubén Zamora, jailed for nearly two years on money-laundering charges. Zamora, the 67-year-old founder of El Periodico newspaper, was sentenced to six years in prison last June on money-laundering allegations. Guatemala’s former human rights ombudsman Jorge Duque agreed to guarantee Zamora’s appearance at future hearings.

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History of this topic

Financial Charges: A Weaponized Assault on Independent Media
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Financial Charges: A Weaponized Assault on Independent Media

The Hindu  

Governments are increasingly wielding economic and financial crime charges to silence independent journalism worldwide, according to a new joint report by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The report highlights how authorities systematically employ tax evasion, money laundering, and other financial charges to paralyze media operations and discredit journalists.

Jailed Guatemalan journalist to AP: ‘I can defend myself, because I am innocent’
7 months ago

Jailed Guatemalan journalist to AP: ‘I can defend myself, because I am innocent’

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — José Rubén Zamora has spent nearly two years locked in a dark 16- by 13-foot cell in a Guatemalan prison, allowed only one hour a day in the sunlight. I have to face justice because I can defend myself, because I am innocent.” International press freedom organizations have labeled Zamora’s arrest and detention a political prosecution. Zamora …

Guatemalan court orders release of journalist jailed for nearly 2 years on money laundering charges
7 months, 1 week ago

Guatemalan court orders release of journalist jailed for nearly 2 years on money laundering charges

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan court ordered the release Wednesday of journalist José Rubén Zamora, jailed for nearly two years on money laundering charges. Zamora, the 67-year-old founder of El Periodico newspaper, was sentenced to six years in prison last June for alleged money laundering. Police escort Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora, founder of El Periodico newspaper, to court in …

Guatemala sentences renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora to six years in money laundering case
1 year, 6 months ago

Guatemala sentences renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora to six years in money laundering case

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan tribunal sentenced newspaper founder José Rubén Zamora to six years in prison Wednesday in a money laundering case, concluding a trial that press freedom groups decried as a political persecution aimed at silencing a critical voice. In his final comments to the court Wednesday before the verdict was announced, Zamora said, “all of my rights …

Guatemalan court convicts prominent journalist José Rubén Zamora
1 year, 6 months ago

Guatemalan court convicts prominent journalist José Rubén Zamora

Al Jazeera  

Critics have denounced the case against investigative journalist Jose Ruben Zamora as an attack on press freedom. “They destroyed evidence.” In announcing Wednesday’s verdict, the court in Guatemala City claimed Zamora had “harmed the Guatemalan economy”. “They have subjected him, within this fabricated case, to a process that has been totally a violation of his due process.” While the public …

Guatemala sending journalist to prison; press freedom groups allege political persecution
1 year, 6 months ago

Guatemala sending journalist to prison; press freedom groups allege political persecution

LA Times  

Journalist José Rubén Zamora is escorted in handcuffs by police to court. A Guatemalan tribunal sentenced newspaper founder José Rubén Zamora to six years in prison Wednesday in a money laundering case, concluding a trial that press freedom groups decried as a political persecution aimed at silencing a critical voice. In his final comments to the court Wednesday before the …

Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora faces 40 years in prison
1 year, 6 months ago

Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora faces 40 years in prison

Al Jazeera  

Jose Ruben Zamora, who has reported dozens of investigations into the Guatemalan government, faces 40 years in prison. What does Jose Ruben Zamora’s arrest signify for Guatemala’s crackdown on dissent? He’s reported on 144 investigative pieces about corruption in the Guatemalan government, led by President Alejandro Giammatei. In this episode: Jose Carlos Zamora, son of Jose Ruben Zamora and a …

Guatemala journalist goes on trial in money laundering case
1 year, 7 months ago

Guatemala journalist goes on trial in money laundering case

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — The president of a Guatemalan investigative newspaper went on trial Tuesday on money laundering charges in a case media observers have criticized as politically motivated. The Guatemalan Association of Journalists and human rights activists have called the case a politically motivated campaign against Zamora because of his anti-corruption efforts. “The trial is a setback not only for …

Guatemalan journalist goes on trial in money laundering case
1 year, 7 months ago

Guatemalan journalist goes on trial in money laundering case

LA Times  

Journalist Jose Ruben Zamora stands in a cell after his initial arrest in Guatemala City in 2022. The president of a Guatemalan investigative newspaper went on trial Tuesday on money laundering charges in a case media observers have criticized as politically motivated. Prosecutors accuse him of money laundering related to a deposit of about $30,000 he asked someone else to …

Judge orders investigation of Guatemalan journalists
1 year, 9 months ago

Judge orders investigation of Guatemalan journalists

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan judge ordered the investigation Tuesday of nine journalists from a newspaper whose president, a prominent government critic, has already been jailed on various charges since last year. Judge Jimi Bremer said that to find out whether the journalists from El Periodico newspaper were maliciously pursuing prosecutors, judges and other members of Guatemala’s justice system, thereby …

Judge orders Guatemalan investigative newspaper chief to stand trial
2 years ago

Judge orders Guatemalan investigative newspaper chief to stand trial

LA Times  

The director of a Guatemalan investigative newspaper must stand trial on charges of money-laundering, influence-peddling and blackmail, a judge ruled Thursday. José Rubén Zamora of El Periódico has been held for four months amid criticism that his arrest was politically motivated by an administration interested in silencing critical journalists. Zamora’s family members have said various businesspeople were harassed and pressured …

Guatemala’s El Periodico newspaper, facing government pressure, stops print edition
2 years ago

Guatemala’s El Periodico newspaper, facing government pressure, stops print edition

LA Times  

Jose Ruben Zamora, president of Guatemalan newspaper El Periodico, stands in his cell in Guatemala City after a court hearing on July 30. The prominent Guatemalan investigative newspaper El Periodico announced Wednesday that it is stopping its print edition after the government arrested the paper’s president. The closure of the print edition came on Guatemala’s “Day of the Journalist.” Guatemala’s …

Guatemalan journalist known for investigations still jailed
2 years, 4 months ago

Guatemalan journalist known for investigations still jailed

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — A prize-winning Guatemalan journalist jailed on alleged money laundering charges that government critics have denounced as a pressure tactic has faced consequences for his work before. In 2003, government agents searched José Rubén Zamora Marroquin’s home and threatened his life after he wrote a column suggesting former dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt, then president of the congress, …

Arrest of prominent Guatemalan journalist draws condemnation
2 years, 4 months ago

Arrest of prominent Guatemalan journalist draws condemnation

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — A prominent Guatemalan newspaper editor who has overseen investigations into corruption has been arrested, prompting denunciations Saturday by politicians, anticorruption activists and civic groups. Speaking before a court hearing, he said, “I haven’t eaten anything nor drunk any water in 36 hours.” The U.S. government has sharply criticized the weakening of anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala and last …

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