The IPI global network welcomes the release of Guatemalan journalist and IPI World Press Freedom Hero José Rubén Zamora on house arrest, after being imprisoned for over 800 days. We urge authorities to drop all charges and grant him full freedom.

On October 18, Guatemalan judge Erick García ordered Zamora’s release after more than two years in detention. Judge García ruled that his pretrial detention had exceeded the legal limit and ordered his transfer to house arrest, with restrictions including a ban on leaving the country and the retention of his passport. While the house arrest is another form of detention, it’s an improvement on the conditions 67-year-old Zamora has endured in prison.

Zamora was arrested on July 29, 2022 on charges of alleged money laundering, blackmail, and influence peddling. He is the founder and director of the now-closed independent newspaper elPeriódico, known for its critical reporting on the government. The headquarters of elPeriódico were also raided by police. In 2023, Zamora was sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, but an appeals court later overturned the conviction and scheduled a new trial for 2025.

Guatemalan authorities have claimed that the detention is not connected to Zamora’s work as a journalist, but the charges are widely believed to be politically motivated. The Association of Guatemalan Journalists has said that the harassment is a part of a government effort to prosecute, criminalize, and censor dissenting media and journalists.