Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora was released on Wednesday after nearly two years in jail on money laundering charges. Zamora, the 67-year-old founder of El Periodico newspaper, was sentenced to six years in prison last June, but that conviction was overturned by another court.
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, the founder of El Periodico newspaper, was released on Wednesday after nearly two years in jail on money laundering charges.
Zamora, 67, was sentenced to six years in prison last June for alleged money laundering. But that conviction and sentence were overturned by another court and a new trial ordered.
For nearly two years, Zamora was kept in jail. But on Wednesday, a judge ruled that there was no longer justification to keep him in jail, noting that he was not considered a flight risk or a threat to the investigation. Zamora will spend the rest of his time before a new trial on a conditional release.
He was ordered to post a bond of nearly $4,800.
During Wednesday's hearing, Zamora said, "During my entire life I have been the victim of attacks, abductions, aggressions for the work that I do."
His defense attorney, Cristina Gómez, said that his detention was arbitrary.
Guatemala's former human rights ombudsman Jorge Duque agreed to guarantee Zamora's appearance at future hearings. "It is the least I can do," Duque said. "I know him and I know that he will continue facing the process against him."
Press freedom groups had decried Zamora's prosecution as politically motivated. El Periodico published numerous investigations critical of former President Alejandro Giammattei.
The charges against Zamora stemmed from him 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 Giammattei.
The foundation of Nobel Prize winning writer Gabriel García Márquez awarded its excellence in journalism prize to Zamora on Tuesday.
Zamora's release is a victory for press freedom in Guatemala. It is a reminder that journalists should not be jailed for their work, and that the government should respect the independence of the media.
