The Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín faced on Monday the start of the third criminal process against him since his arrest on July 29, 2022, five days after launching strong criticisms of corruption against the president of the country, Alejandro Giammattei.
The new process against the journalist began this Monday in the Tenth Court of the Guatemalan Judiciary, on charges of continuous use of false documents.
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The Public Ministry (MP) accused Zamora Marroquín of allegedly having declared customs declaration slips and falsifying immigration records.
The communicator and founder of the investigative outlet El Periódico, which had to close last May after the arrest of Zamora Marroquín, was present in court to face the new charges against him.
The 66-year-old journalist has been detained since July 29, after being arrested on charges of money laundering and blackmail, just five days after launching accusations of corruption in El Periódico against Giammattei’s most intimate circle.
For the case of money laundering and blackmail, the Prosecutor’s Office requested a 40-year prison sentence for Zamora Marroquín, pending the verdict this Wednesday by the Eighth Criminal Sentencing Court. In addition, the journalist is accused of a case of obstruction of Justice.
#Justice 📢FECI arms a new case against Jose Rubén Zamora
The FECI points out to Zamora having used customs declaration tickets to leave and enter the country between 2015 and 2017 in which a false signature was used.
— Community Press Km169 (@PrensaComunitar) June 12, 2023
Change of Zamora lawyers
Zamora Marroquín has had to change lawyers seven times, since four of them were prosecuted by the Public Ministry linked to the original case for which he was arrested.
The criminal proceedings against the journalist and his lawyers have been launched by prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who was sanctioned by the United States Department of State last year for “fabricating” criminal proceedings against justice operators.
The journalist has pointed out on several occasions that his detention is due to the need to silence the investigations by his outlet.
Zamora Marroquín and the investigations of El Periódico were transcendental in exposing the corruption of the Government of Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015), in prison for various charges since 2015.
