Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, main critic of the government headed by Alejandro Giammattei, served nine months in pretrial detention this Saturday, and next week the trial against him for alleged money laundering will begin.
Zamora Marroquín, 67, has been held in the Mariscal Zavala military barracks prison, located in the north of Guatemala City, since July 29, 2022.
Read also: They send Mariscal Zavala to the lawyer Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa
On May 3, the debate against the journalist will begin for an accusation of alleged money laundering presented by the Public Ministry (MP) of Guatemala.
The journalist will defend himself in the trial, since his last two lawyers, Juan Solorzano Foppa and Justino Brito, resigned, pointing out anomalies in the process. Subsequently, both were arrested by the Prosecutor’s Office for an alleged “obstruction of criminal action”.
This week, the Inter-American Press Association (SIP), through a report, warned that freedom of expression in Guatemala has been “degraded” due to the actions taken by the Prosecutor’s Office in the case of Zamora Marroquín and his right to defend himself against the accusations.
#Events Zamora, who has written for decades about human rights violations and corruption in Guatemala, could be sentenced to 34 years in prison if convicted of the charges against him.
— elPeriódico (@el_Periodico) April 28, 2023
Jose Ruben Zamora
The communicator, with more than 30 years of journalistic experience, was arrested at his home last year, just 5 days after publishing strong criticism of President Giammattei for irregular acts by his Administration.
Zamora Marroquín’s family assures that his media outlet, El Periódico, had published more than 145 investigations into acts of corruption by the Giammattei government prior to his arrest.
During the 9 months of his detention, the morning newspaper founded and chaired by Zamora Marroquín was forced to discontinue its physical version. In addition, he entered a financial crisis and laid off more than 50% of his journalistic and administrative staff.
The newspaperfounded by Zamora Marroquín in the 1990s, received the award for “Outstanding Ibero-American Media” in 2021, given by King Felipe VI of Spain to the Guatemalan journalist.
