A criminal judge Guatemala awarded this Friday house arrest to the journalist Jose Ruben Zamora and will be able to leave prison after staying more than 800 days in a prison in the capital of the Central American country, in a process full of irregularities.
The request for house arrest Zamora Marroquín was accepted by the criminal judge Erik Garciawho considered that “for human rights reasons,” he should grant the measure to the journalist.
“To date, for human rights reasons, the prison term has exceeded the limits, and we must also take into consideration that Mr. José Rubén Zamora Marroquín enjoys the corresponding roots so that this type of benefits can be granted,” he said. the judge
And he added: “Consequently, the following alternative measures are (granted) to him: house arrest at his home (…), he is also prohibited from leaving the country without judicial authorization.”
Furthermore, the judge continued, they will tell immigration not to give you passports “given that you are currently still under criminal proceedings,” and due to your economic situation, previously explained by your defense, “no financial sanction is imposed.”
Zamora Marroquín was arrested on July 29, 2022accused of money laundering by Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Officejust five days after launching corruption accusations against the then president, Alejandro Giammattei.
After reading the sentence, the judge asked him directly: “Do you agree to comply with the substitution measures that have been granted to you?”
“I am committed, honorable Mr. Judge,” Zamora responded.
At the end of the hearing, the attendees broke into applause and the journalist, still handcuffed and still not knowing when he will be released from prison while the procedures are being carried out, smiled smilingly at the press gathered in the room, including EFE.
The first thing I’ll do is “go home and maybe next week I’ll go to a hospital for a couple of days to get checked out,” said Zamora Marroquín excitedly.
During his stay in prison, the journalist claimed to have lost more than 80 pounds of weight, suffering from respiratory diseases, having been subjected to psychological torture and forced to live in a galley less than 4 meters in length.
How do you see journalism? they asked him. “Very expensive,” he replied smiling.
Zamora Marroquín had explained during the hearing that he suffered several attacks and more than 89 complaints which took him 10 years to solve.
“However, I have never fled, the Prosecutor’s Office hunted me for months and I decided to face this with my head held high,” the journalist said before the court to request his release in a hearing that lasted more than nine hours.
This resolution occurs in the first week of functions of the new Supreme Court of Justice.
The Fable of the Ogre and the Little Prince who wanted everything
The Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) accused the journalist of an alleged money launderingin a case that was presented just five days after he launched strong criticism against the then president, Alejandro Giammattei, for a management marked by acts of corruption.
In that note, an editorial in his newspaper, El Periódico, Zamora Marroquín classified Giammattei and his romantic partner and former official, Miguel Martínez, as The Fable of the Ogre and the Little Prince who wanted everything.
Both Giammattei and Martínez have a sanction from the United States for corruptionalthough both have repeatedly denied the accusations against them.
Zamora Marroquín, from 66 yearswas initially accused of alleged money laundering for 3$8,000 and in July 2023 he was sentenced to six years in prison. However, an Appeals chamber annulled the conviction due to irregularities in the process.
The journalist was granted house arrest in August for one of the cases, but remained in preventive detention for two other judicial proceedings, despite the fact that dozens of international and local organizations have classified the accusations against him as spurious.
Changes of lawyers due to judicial persecution
According to experts, the judicial process faced by Zamora Marroquín has been biased, because he had to change defense attorneys on at least four occasions due to the judicial persecution suffered by each of them by the Public Ministry, whose leadership is also sanctioned by the United States.
This Friday, the Anti-Terrorism Foundationa far-right military organization, presented a challenge so that Judge Rodolfo García could not hold the hearing where the journalist could benefit.
The German ambassador, Hardy Boeckleattended the trial and showed his support for Zamora Marroquín, who is also accompanied by his family.
Zamora Marroquín was the winner last May of the Recognition for Excellence of the Gabo Award 2024 of journalism, which is awarded every year in Colombia by the foundation created by the writer Gabriel García Márquez.
Also The Newspapera newspaper founded by Zamora and which had to close after his arrest, received the King of Spain International Journalism Award for Outstanding Media in Ibero-America, as the journalist himself recalled this Friday to show the judge the broad international support.
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