The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, visited on Monday afternoon to journalist José Rubén Zamora, who is under house arrest since Saturday after spending more than 800 days in jail for a case classified as political persecution by human rights organizations and the United Nations. During the meeting, the progressive ruler reiterated his commitment to respect for freedom of the press and expression and listened to the story of the founder and former director of the newspaper. elPeriódico about the “difficult” experience he lived for more than two years in prison.
Both discussed the relevance of his release from prison, where he suffered inhuman and degrading treatment in the first stage of his captivity, as an opportunity to end political persecution in Guatemala and the liberation of those who still They are deprived of liberty as a result of spurious investigations and arbitrary measures, as detailed by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency in a statement issued at night.
Zamora, for his part, expressed his gratitude for the role played by the Attorney General’s Office and recognized the Government’s actions to ensure humane treatment, respect for dignity and the protection of his rights during his imprisonment. “I visited José Rubén Zamora, because he recovered his freedom, who was perhaps the most significant example of the punishment to which the press was subjected during the regime of darkness and corruption. […]. Without freedom of expression there is no democracy,” Arévalo later stated on his official account on the social network X.
The publication is accompanied by a photograph in which Zamora, founder and former president of elPeriódicoHe smiles standing next to the president in his living room.
The State could be sued
Monday morning José Carlos Zamora, son of the journalist, spoke with EL PAÍS in London and assured that the communicator and his defense are seeking a friendly agreement with Arévalo to end the ordeal and the judicial web that keeps his father trapped. Otherwise, the State of Guatemala could be sued before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court).
“It would be a lawsuit against the State of Guatemala, which would carry responsibilities for all those involved, as well as possible compensation. Surely the State does not want to go to the end, which could have a terrible result. That is why there is the possibility of an agreement before the process ends,” he explained. In addition, he commented that Arévalo could do more to end the criminal cell that has co-opted the Public Ministry and a group of judges. However, the president’s respect for the current rules of the game influences the continuation of the criminal prosecution that began with the last two governments against justice operators, journalists and human rights defenders.
Applause for the liberation
The release of José Rubén Zamora, who as the head of the elPeriódico promoted several investigations against cases of corruption, was applauded by the international community, which has followed the case closely since his arrest in July 2022. “We join Guatemalans in celebrating the house arrest granted to José Rubén Zamora after more than 800 days of delayed justice,” wrote Brian Nichols, undersecretary of the United States Department of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, in his account of
Other US senators, embassies accredited in Guatemala and foreign human rights organizations also welcomed the decision of the judge, Erick García, to grant the substitute measure to the journalist.
