He is charged with money laundering, conspiracy, influence peddling and extortion.
Guatemala’s public prosecutor’s office yesterday filed four charges against journalist Jose Ruven Zamora, founder and director of the newspaper El Periódico, which is critical of the government of conservative President Alejandro Yamate.
Prosecutor Cynthia Monterosso presented the alleged evidence and evidence against the journalist who was arrested last week. He is charged with money laundering, conspiracy, influence peddling and extortion.
According to the indictment, Mr. Zamora allegedly asked banker Ronald Garcia, who sued him on July 26, to help him get 300,000 quetzals (about 38,000 euros) into the banking system to hide the “true origin” of the amount.
During the hearing, the prosecutor presented the cash that Mr. Zamora allegedly sent to the banker.
Mr. Garcia testified that the money was probably extracted from the journalist by “blackmailing” various businessmen so that he would not publish information against them that he had in his possession.
At the start of the proceedings, last Wednesday, Mr. Zamora complained that the president and the Attorney General Consuelo Porras were behind his arrest, describing the case as a “rigging”.
The Guatemalan government denies any involvement in Mr. Zamora’s arrest, which has sparked a wave of calls to respect press freedom.
The journalist was arrested on July 29 at his home, which was searched the same day as the headquarters of El Periódico, journalists and members of the editorial team of which complained that it was an act of retaliation because the newspaper published a report accusing members of the government of corruption and Mrs. Poras.
The Special Prosecutor Against Impunity (FECI), which has been tasked with investigating, the charges against Mr Zamora relate to his activities “as a businessman”, not his journalistic work, which his newspaper and his people reject Press in the Central American country.
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