The Guatemalan court that convicted last week of renowned anti-corruption journalist José Rubén Zamora on Monday dismissed a civil lawsuit that the Attorney General’s Office had filed on behalf of the State of Guatemala as a reparation measure after the communicator was found guilty of money laundering of money.
“He did not offer proof that establishes how that amount accredits the material damage that was caused to the State,” said the president of the court, Oly González, in reading the ruling during a hearing.
The attorney general’s office had requested that the journalist pay 64,000 quetzales (about $8,200) in reparation, which would be donated to public charities.
money laundering
A court found Zamora guilty of money laundering for just over $38,000 on June 15, in a case where —according to the journalist’s family— due process was violated and generated harsh criticism from organizations that defend freedom of expression. .
Zamora argued that the money was the product of the sale of a painting by a renowned Guatemalan artist, the resulting amount of which was donated to solve the financial problems of the newspaper.
The court also refused to accept the painting or testimony as exculpatory evidence.
Zamora, 66, is one of the most recognized journalists nationally and internationally. His media outlet, El Periódico, had to close its doors on May 15 after reports of harassment, threats, and political and financial pressure.
two more accusations
Zamora faces at least two more accusations from the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), which once carried out major investigations against corruption in the Central American country. The most recent indicates that the journalist forged his signature on immigration tickets to enter and leave the country between 2016 and 2019.
Judge Jimi Bremer, who is handling the new accusation against Zamora, has also ordered an investigation of nine journalists and columnists from El Periódico, including the director, for the alleged crime of obstruction of justice for the publications they made about violations of due process in the case of Zamora and alleged abuses of power by judges and prosecutors who exercise their positions in the justice system.
The prosecutor’s office has said that its investigations are not against the press, although in its accusations against the journalists it has said that their publications “had the purpose of discrediting the work of judges and prosecutors.”
The publications included prosecutor Cinthia Monterroso, who is handling the charges against Zamora, and journalists from El Periódico, for having been denounced for abuse of authority.
The Constitution in Guatemala says that “publications containing denunciations, criticisms or accusations against public officials or employees for acts carried out in the exercise of their duties” do not constitute a crime or misdemeanor. However, the Prosecutor’s Office uses the Organized Crime Law, a law of lower hierarchy, to charge the journalists.