Court jails journalist six years for money laundering
On Wednesday, Jose Zamora, a journalist in Guatemala, was sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering.
The 66-year-old journalist was acquitted of charges of blackmail and influence peddling.
Mr Zamora, the founder and publisher of an investigative outlet El Periódico in Guatemala, described the charges against him as “political prosecution,” claiming to be innocent of those charges.
The presiding judge, Oly González, sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment or an option to pay a $38,300 fine.
The journalist maintained that the case against him was political persecution by President Alejandro Giammattei because of reporting on alleged corruption involving the president and his close allies in El Periodico, which the government later shut down in May.
The journalist was arrested in July 2022 during a crackdown on prosecutors, judges, human rights activists, journalists and opposition officials.
The attorney general’s office claimed Mr Zamora allegedly received $38,461 to finance his media outlet, which was not regularly deposited into the banking system.
The case developed rapidly and involved 11 hearings, but the judge did not admit the defendant’s evidence.
The journalist’s son, José Carlos Zamora, told local media in Guatemala that his father is innocent of the charges adding that they will appeal the court’s judgement.
Juanita Goebertus, the director of the Human Rights Watch Americas division, said, “To ask for a sentence of 40 years is absolutely disproportionate and shows the viciousness with which journalism is being persecuted in Guatemala.”
The programme director of CPJ in New York, Carlos Martinez de la Serna, said the conviction of Mr Zamora was an infringement of press freedom in the country and the “desperate attempts of President Alejandro Giammattei’s government to criminalise journalism.”
“Guatemalan officials must end the absurd charade of criminal proceedings against him. It is time for José Rubén Zamora to be released, for his only ‘crime’ has been the fearless exercise of his profession,” he added.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Heading 5
Gov Oyebanji reappoints SSG, chief of staff, spokesperson
The reappointments followed Mr Oyebanji’s inauguration for a second term in office.
Anti-Corruption
Witness tells court how NDC Reps candidate Duruibe allegedly defrauded him of N239 million
Ms Duruibe emerged as the House of Representatives candidate for Okigwe South Federal Constituency in June.
Heading 2
Nasarawa assembly warns contractors against substandard road projects
The committee chairman commended the contractors for the work done so far.
States
Enugu approves payment of N32 billion gratuity arrears from 2000
The SSG said the payments would begin with an initial release of N10 billion.
Africa
WHO urges vigilance in Kenya after second Ebola case
WHO underlined the importance of appropriate screening to identify travellers who might pose a health risk.
Uncategorized
UK warns citizens against all travel to Sokoto
The directive marked Bauchi State for essential travel only.
