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New York City Bar Association Welcomes Guatemalan Journalist José Rubén Zamora’s Release to House Arrest, Repeats Call for Guatemala to Uphold International Law

October 2024

The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, a City Bar program, is representing Zamora in petitions before regional and international bodies.

New York, October 21, 2024 — The New York City Bar Association today welcomed a Guatemalan court’s decision to release imprisoned journalist José Rubén Zamora to house arrest and reiterated its call for Guatemalan authorities to ensure the rights of anti-corruption actors.

On Friday, October 18, Judge Erick García Alvarado ruled that Zamora’s time in prison had exceeded the limits established by law and that his release was necessary “for human rights reasons.” Zamora was released from prison to his home the next day. He remains under house arrest, is required to appear before authorities every eight days, and cannot leave the country without judicial authorization.

The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, a nonprofit program of the City Bar, has represented Zamora in proceedings before regional and international human rights bodies since shortly after he was arrested in July 2022, assisted by a team of pro bono lawyers from King & Spalding and the Chilean law firm Estudio Colombara.

Zamora, the founder and former editor of independent newspaper elPeriódico, had been detained since his arrest in July 2022 for alleged financial crimes. In June 2023, he was sentenced to six years in prison and a fine for alleged money laundering. An appeals court later overturned that sentence and sent the case back for retrial, but Zamora remained in pretrial detention on charges in a second case related to obstruction of justice.

The City Bar has joined numerous human rights organizations in criticizing the trial proceedings for multiple irregularities and violations, including failing to guarantee due process and harassing and bringing criminal charges against a series of defense lawyers.

“The New York City Bar Association welcomes the court order releasing journalist José Rubén Zamora to house arrest,” said New York City Bar Association President Muhammad U. Faridi, “The City Bar has repeatedly spoken out against attacks on press freedom and judicial independence in Guatemala. It is a fundamental principle of international law that journalists, lawyers, and judges must be able to carry out their work without fear of reprisal, and this decision represents an important recognition of those protections.”

“We are relieved that, after more than 800 days of arbitrary detention, our client José Rubén Zamora has been released from inhumane prison conditions and can return home,” said Vance Center Associate Executive Director Jaime Chávez Alor. “However, his case is not over. He still faces unjust criminal charges and the risk of returning to prison. The Vance Center’s legal team will continue to support Zamora’s case before international bodies and call for the dismissal of charges and his unconditional release.”

In July, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Zamora’s ongoing detention was arbitrary and constituted a violation of international law for discrimination based on his political position as a reporter investigating corruption. The decision responded to a complaint the Vance Center filed before the Working Group in August 2023, arguing that Zamora’s continued imprisonment met the definition of arbitrary detention.

In its opinion, the independent group of experts called on the Guatemalan government to “take the necessary steps to remedy the situation of Mr. Zamora without delay and to bring it into conformity with the relevant international standards.”

For media inquiries and more information, contact nsouthwick@nycbar.org or efriedman@nycbar.org.

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About the Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has 23,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org

About the Vance Center
The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, a non-profit program of the New York City Bar Association, promotes global justice by engaging legal professionals around the world to support the work of civil society and an ethically active legal profession. It brings together leading law firms and other partners around the world to promote international justice initiatives and provide pro bono legal representation to civil society organizations that fight for social justice.
www.vancecenter.org