Guatemala: Jose Rubén Zamora's hearing postponed for sixth time amid international allegations of arbitrariness, abuse, torture and ill-treatment
The hearings in the case against elPeriódico newspaper founder Jose Rubén Zamora, scheduled for 22 and 23 July 2024, have been postponed again. This is the sixth time they have been postponed in recent months. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the government of President Bernardo Arévalo and Supreme Court chief justice Oscar Cruz Oliva to take a stand against this series of abusive maneuvers that are cruelly and unjustly prolonging the journalist's pre-trial detention.
A complaint filed by Ricardo Méndez Ruiz, director of the far right Guatemalan organisation Fundación Contra el Terrorismo (FCT), led Judge Wendy Coloma to postpone the hearings in the case of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora. Without presenting any evidence, the FCT made serious accusations that there was collusion between the judge and Zamora so that the journalist would be released. The magistrate denied the facts and argued that the complaint would be taken to a higher court to avoid any suspicions about her impartiality. The maneuver could cause the hearing to be delayed for several months.
Since August 2022, the case of José Rubén Zamora has faced multiple postponements, evidencing a pattern of obstruction. The first hearing, scheduled for August 1, 2022, was postponed because the judge did not receive the file and Zamora was not transferred to the court. Since then, the excuses have ranged from scheduling conflicts, to health issues and other requests for the recusals of judges.
"The successive delays in the hearings in the cases against Jose Ruben Zamora cruelly prolong his arbitrary detention. The judiciary cannot continue to move forward apathetically and remain oblivious to the escalating number of complaints from international organizations that present evidence of arbitrariness, abuse, mistreatment and torture. We call on the government of President Bernardo Arévalo to demonstrate the political will to act more forcefully in this case. We also call on the President of the Supreme Court of Guatemala, Oscar Cruz Oliva, to avoid further malicious delays in the hearings and in the decision making of the lower courts.
On July 2, the opinion adopted by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) was made public, confirming the “arbitrary” nature of Zamora's detention and calling for his immediate release. The text details serious reasons for concern in the journalist's case and concludes that the “appropriate solution would be to release him immediately” and “provide him with compensation.”
On 18 July, Zamora's international legal team filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, requesting the journalist's protection. An independent medical and psychological report revealed that Zamora has suffered torture, threats, inhuman treatment and humiliation for two years.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) urged Guatemala to resolve the legal situation of José Rubén Zamora in accordance with international standards and recalled that he has been the beneficiary of precautionary measures since 2003.
