Guatemalan court overturns order that freed journalist José Rubén Zamora, orders his return to jail

GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan appeals court on Friday overturned the order freeing journalist José Rubén Zamora and ordered his return to jail.

Zamora, founder of El Periódico newspaper, had spent more than two years in jail awaiting trial before a judge granted him house arrest in October.

Prosecutors appealed the order and on Friday another court ordered the 68-year-old journalist to continue waiting in jail.

Zamora had been imprisoned since July 2022, when he was charged with money laundering, amounting to around $38,000, and in June 2023 he was sentenced to six years in prison. The sentence was overturned by an appeals court because of errors in the process, but he’s waiting to see if he will be granted a retrial.

José Zamora, the journalist’s son, confirmed the appeals court decision, which he called “insanity” and said his father’s defense team had been notified.

The elder Zamora had been ordered to be moved to house arrest on Oct. 18. The judge had said his pre-trial detention had exceeded legal limits.

After his release, Zamora said that the justice system remained coopted and that he was sure they would try to find a way to return him to jail.

Zamora’s release had been praised by President Bernardo Arévalo, who met with Zamora two days after the journalist was freed.

In an interview with The Associated Press after his release, Zamora said he believed it was his paper’s investigative work that led him to be targeted by prosecutors. In particular, it was his pointed criticism of former President Alejandro Giammattei and his ally, current Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who was sanctioned by the United States for allegedly obstructing corruption investigations.

Porras’ agents raided Zamora’s house in July 2022 and arrested him, accusing him of money laundering after he asked a friend to deposit $38,000 that Zamora said was a donation to his news organization.

Zamora said he did not put the money in the bank himself because the person who made the donation feared being retaliated against for supporting the media outlet. He was initially convicted and sentenced to six years, a ruling that was annulled due to procedural failures.

He was later accused of falsifying documents and faced a second trial for allegedly lying in the first case against him.

Arévalo has attempted to oust Porras, but Giammattei's extension of her term until May 2026 has left him powerless.

“Once again they want José Rubén Zamora to return to prison in a completely abusive and arbitrary way,” Arévalo said Friday on X. “Our justice system is on trial and the Guatemalan people have been clear in demanding respect for doing journalism.”

“Any resolution against freedom of expression is illegitimate,” he wrote. “Guatemala’s government will take measures to defend freedom of expression.”

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