Guatemalan Journalist José Rubén Zamora Deserves Freedom From Persecution

What is happening? 

José Rubén Zamora – does his name sound familiar to you? For the past three years, Zamora has been at the center of a trial against his work as a journalist and anti-corruption defender in Guatemala. In July 2022, he was detained and given a 6-year sentence on bogus money laundering charges. His only crime: exposing cases of corruption involving former president Alejandro Giammattei and his cronies. 

Zamora was incarcerated for more than 800 days, where he was held in unsanitary conditions, put in solitary confinement, and is suffering psychological consequences consistent with torture. Most recently, he was put on house arrest. But this past Monday, March 10th, a judge ordered his return to preventative prison. 

Zamora’s persecution is unfounded, and solely based on his work to uncover government and private sector corruption. National and international NGOs have widely denounced his persecution, and the United Nations found his arrest to be “arbitrary” and in violation of international law. 

Here’s what you can do to help: 

As a U.S.-based advocate, we need your help to raise awareness. The pacto de corruptos in Guatemala need to know that there are international eyes on them. 

Collectively, we can flood their social media platforms with these posts. Repost these captions and graphics and share with your family and friends. 

These posts can be adapted to X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and BlueSky. Download the graphics, paste the caption, and tag these accounts: 

María Consuelo Porras, Attorney General: @FiscalGeneralGT (X)

President Bernardo Arévalo: @bernardoarevalogt (Instagram) @BArevalodeLeon (X)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs:  @MinexGt (X)

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: @Oacnudh_G (X)

We demand #JusticeForZamora In #Guatemala, a famous anticorruption journalist has been jailed for 800+ days. Guatemalans DESERVE justice and accountability.

Read more https://bit.ly/JusticiaParaZamora

Imagine being jailed for 800+ days, put on house arrest, and now are back in prison. Another attempt by the Guatemalan #pactodecorruptos to silence the press. Journalist José Rubén Zamora deserves #freedom. 

Read more https://bit.ly/JusticiaParaZamora