The IPI global network welcomes the release of Guatemalan journalist and IPI World Press Freedom Hero José Rubén Zamora on house arrest. All remaining charges against him must now be dropped, and authorities must end their legal campaign against him.
On February 12, a judge ordered Zamora, the founder and director of the now-closed independent newspaper elPeriódico who has been imprisoned since 2022, released on house arrest while he awaits retrial on charges of money laundering observers say are in clear retaliation for his critical journalism.
“While IPI is grateful to see José Rubén Zamora released from prison, we will not stop fighting until all remaining charges against him are dropped, and the yearslong legal campaign against him fully ends,” said IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen.
“After enduring so many years of arbitrary detention, it is time for Zamora to come home. IPI calls on Guatemalan authorities to finally end the weaponization of the country’s legal system to intimidate, silence and jail members of the press.”
Zamora was originally arrested on July 29, 2022 while at his home in Guatemala City on charges including alleged money laundering, blackmail, and influence peddling. The offices of elPeriódico – then one of Guatemala’s most well-known outlets – were raided the same day.
Shortly after Zamora’s arrest, the outlet, which had reported on several allegations of corruption within the administration of then-president Alejandro Giammattei, moved to online-only before being forced to close in May 2023 after its bank accounts were frozen.
On June 15, 2023, Zamora was convicted on charges of money laundering and sentenced to six years in prison. The sentence was quickly overturned on appeal due to irregularities in the legal process, but Zamora was kept behind bars while awaiting a new trial.
In October 2024, a Guatemalan judge ordered Zamora’s release on house arrest after more than two years in detention in conditions the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights criticized as inhumane. After prosecutors appealed his release, Zamora was returned to jail in March 2025.
Zamora, who was named an IPI World Press Freedom Hero in 2000, has maintained his innocence throughout the years of legal prosecution, repeatedly arguing he is a political prisoner being punished by the authorities for reporting critically on the government. Guatemala’s current president, Bernardo Arévalo, has called the legal campaign against Zamora “absolutely spurious” and has personally met with the journalist.
Throughout his journalistic career, Zamora has dealt with repeated attempts to silence his journalistic work. He has received a number of death threats, been held hostage, was kidnapped and beaten and even survived several assassination attempts.