Authorities say that Zamora, who’s the director of the newspaper El Periódico, is suspected of involvement in a cash laundering case.
But his son José Carlos Zamora instructed CNN that he believed the arrest was once an act of retaliation, and an try at censorship because of the newspaper’s grievance of President Alejandro Giammattei’s executive.
Zamora “is likely one of the major critics of the federal government of Alejandro Giammattei, and his arrest happened 5 days after sturdy lawsuits in opposition to a number of officers and previous officers for corruption in a Sunday phase of the morning paper,” El Periodico stated in a commentary posted on Twitter.
Zamora’s arrest “isn’t associated with his task as a journalist,” particular prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche instructed radio station Emisoras Unidas.
Authorities raided the newspaper’s places of work and Zamora’s house earlier than arresting him, Curruchiche additionally stated.
CNN has requested prosecutors for more info however has now not but gained a reaction. CNN has additionally reached out to Zamora’s prison illustration however has now not but gained a reaction.
“Guatemalan government must right away liberate and drop any felony fees in opposition to journalist José Rubén Zamora, president of elPeriódico,” stated Gypsy Guillén Kaiser, the Advocacy Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The US State Department’s undersecretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, Brian Nichols, additionally spoke out in opposition to Zamora’s detention on Twitter, urging Guatemala towards “complete appreciate of due procedure.”
“Journalists and media shops who examine or criticize acts of corruption and human rights violations steadily undergo aggression within the type of harassment campaigns and felony prosecution,” RSF stated.
The group ranked Guatemala 124 of 180 international locations international on its annual Press Freedom Index in 2022.
Many newshounds in Guatemala really feel they’re being watched, stated Evelyn Blanck, a journalist and coordinator of Centro Civitas, a company for freedom of expression.
“Now we’re staring at the response of El Periódico. And since (police) additionally raided the newspaper’s amenities and have been there for greater than 12 hours, we wish to know in the event that they took paperwork, we wish to know in the event that they touched the apparatus. In different phrases, we’re involved concerning the safety of the newsroom,” Blanck instructed CNN.
“My opinion is that what has took place is that those anti-democratic actors have moderately seen [Nicaraguan President Daniel] Ortega’s movements and feature additionally evaluated the world response. And in that sense, the case of Nicaragua has been a precedent for what has now took place in El Salvador, in Guatemala.”
Source Link: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/01/americas/jose-ruben-zamora-arrest-guatemala-intl/index.html