Lawyer Juan Francisco Solorzano Foppaformer defender of renowned Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, demanded this Monday that a fair trial be held against him, after arresting him last week for the alleged crime of obstruction of criminal proceedings.
Solórzano Foppa declared, at the end of a hearing in the Guatemalan judicial body, that Judge Fredy Orellana, of the seventh criminal court of first instance “lacks independence” and accused him of not being the judge who is responsible for hearing his case.
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According to the lawyer, detained since April 20, Orellana cannot know the process against him because it was Judge Sergio Mena who ordered his capture.
The first statement hearing for Solórzano Foppa was suspended and an appeals chamber must decide if Orellana has the powers to be the judge of the case against the jurist.
The Public Ministry (MP) accuses Solórzano Foppa and fellow lawyer Justino Brito Torres of allegedly conspiring to justify an “irregular” contract of $25,000 linked to journalist Zamora Marroquín.
#DetentionFoppa ⚖️ ′′ I’m going to be in jail as long as I have to be in jail, but I’m going to demand a fair trial said Foppa after challenging judge Fredy Orellana.
He asks that the judge who issued the arrest warrant try them. Orellana denounced Foppa ex officio.
🎥 @_Rahina_ pic.twitter.com/M2SusPzAJf
– Community Press (@Community Press) April 24, 2023
The case of José Rubén Zamora
The 67-year-old journalist was captured at his home on July 29, 2022, just five days after launching strong criticism of Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and his inner circle for corruption.
Three of the four lawyers who have defended Zamora Marroquín, including Solórzano Foppa, have been charged by the Prosecutor’s Office and this caused the journalist to decide to defend himself in the trial for an alleged money laundering that will begin in May.
The cases against Zamora Marroquín and his lawyers are led by Public Ministry prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who was sanctioned by the United States Department of State in 2022 for filing criminal proceedings against anti-corruption prosecutors and judges in the Central American country.
In 2021, Zamora Marroquín received from the King of Spain, Felipe VI, the prize for the outstanding medium in Ibero-America, for the investigative work that El Periódico has carried out for almost 30 years.
Since 2018, more than 30 lawyers, prosecutors, judges and journalists who denounced corruption in the Central American country have gone into exile, citing political persecution against them.
