The son of José Rubén Zamora, the Guatemalan newspaper editor who press freedom advocates say was wrongly imprisoned last year by top government officials, will join a panel of journalists and a congresswoman on Monday in Miami to talk about the case and its implications for the media in Guatemala and the rest of Latin America.
Jose Carlos Zamora will be part of a panel — “Freeing the Press in Guatemala” — that includes U.S. Rep. Norma J. Torres, D-California, Reporters Without Borders USA Executive Director Clayton Weimers and University of Miami journalism professors Sallie Hughes and Gregory Koger. Hughes is a veteran journalist who covered Latin America; Koger leads UM’s George P. Hanley Democracy Center.
The event is being held Monday, Feb. 19, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at the University of Miami’s Cosford Cinema, which is on the UM campus in Coral Gables. It is free and open to the public. Register here.
READ MORE: Arévalo sworn in as Guatemala's president despite efforts to derail his inauguration
Last June, Zamora was sentenced to six years in prison in a money laundering case that concluded following a trial that international press freedom groups decried as political persecution.
The three-judge panel convicted and sentenced the well-known journalist on a charge of money laundering that affected the national economy and stability of the financial system. The tribunal cleared Zamora of additional charges of blackmail and influence peddling.
The charges stemmed from Zamora, 66, asking a friend to deposit a $38,000 donation to keep the newspaper going rather than depositing it himself. Zamora has said he did so because the donor did not want to be identified supporting an outlet in the sights of then-President Alejandro Giammattei.
Zamora’s El Periodico newspaper was known as fiercely independent and published investigations about corruption in the administrations of Giammattei and his predecessors. Zamora’s work has been internationally recognized.
Giammattei, and specifically his justice system, have been criticized internationally for backsliding on democratic principles and weaponizing the country’s prosecutors and courts to pursue perceived enemies.
“I am innocent of the crimes,” Zamora said after his June 14, 2023, sentencing. “I continue being innocent and he (Giammattei) continues being a thief.”
Giammattei has denied there was any political motivation.
An appeals court overturned the conviction last fall and ordered a retrial on the original charges. The next court hearing is set for Tuesday.
In his final comments to the court before the verdict was announced, Zamora said, “all of my rights were violated,” including the right to a defense. “They treated us like criminals, they destroyed evidence,” he said.
Several of his defense lawyers were arrested in the run-up to the trial.
The Guatemalan Association of Journalists reported last summer that at least 20 journalists have been forced to flee the country in recent years.
Torres, in a statement released last week by her congressional office, condemned the Zamora conviction, saying the journalist must be set free.
“There cannot truly be democracy without a free press,” said Torres. “José Rubén Zamora remains wrongfully imprisoned for simply doing his job as a journalist and shining a light on the inner workings of his government.”
“Zamora deserves to be free and at home with his family, and there must be a free, fair, and speedy trial to address these trumped-up charges,” she added.
Last month, the U.S. State Department barred former president Giammattei from entering the United States, accusing him of “significant corruption,” three days after he left office.
Guatemala’s new president President Bernardo Arévalo, who has vowed to crack down on corruption, was sworn into office on Jan. 15.
“The State Department has credible information indicating that Giammattei accepted bribes in exchange for the performance of his public functions during his tenure as president of Guatemala, actions that undermined the rule of law and government transparency,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
