Guatemala court convicts high-profile journalist of money laundering

A Guatemalan court on Wednesday convicted one of the country’s best-known journalists of money laundering and sentenced him to six years in prison in a case that press freedom groups said had sent a chilling message to the country’s reporters.

Prosecutors bringing the case against José Rubén Zamora, a journalist and businessman, had sought a longer than usual prison sentence of 40 years, which they said was warranted because he “disrespected the authorities”. The court on Wednesday acquitted him of charges of blackmail and influence peddling.

Carlos Martinez de la Serna, the Committee to Protect Journalist’s (CPJ) programme director, said: “The shameful conviction and imprisonment of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora serve as a stark testament to the erosion of freedom of speech in the country. Guatemalan officials must end the absurd charade of criminal proceedings against him.”

The detention of Zamora, a prominent government critic whose newspaper wrote extensively about corruption, sparked concern and condemnation from international human rights organisations.

He has said the charges against him were filed in retaliation for stories published by his newspaper that alleged corruption by the government of President Alejandro Giammattei. The president has denied any role in the case.

The trial sparked fear among the country’s reporters, some of whom are also working while under criminal investigation. More than 20 journalists have fled the country in the last year, according to collective #NoNosCallaran (#TheyWillNotSilenceUs).

Zamora told the Financial Times in the days before the verdict that the country was at risk of becoming a “tyrannical, fascist dictatorship”. He has said he would appeal against any conviction.

He has claimed the case, which centred around Q300,000 ($38,300) in cash prosecutors said was laundered, was plagued with irregularities. Zamora was arrested within days of the original complaint, and the case was wrapped up in just a year in a country where proceedings often drag on for years. Prosecutors have also pursued cases against his lawyers, family members and other reporters from his newspaper.

Before the verdict, Stephen Townley, legal director of the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch initiative, said Zamora’s lawyers were hamstrung from day one.

“International standards require that governments ensure lawyers are able to perform their duties without intimidation or harassment,” he said.

Prosecutors said after the verdict that the trial complied with all the formalities and constitutional principles.

In the same verdict, former prosecutor Samari Gómez was acquitted of charges of leaking information after spending almost a year in jail.

The US government has previously expressed concern about key figures in Guatemala’s justice system. The country’s attorney-general and chief anti-corruption prosecutors are on Washington’s undemocratic and corrupt actors list.