UN experts describe prison conditions for jailed journalist in Guatemala as inhumane – Firstpost

A group of UN experts said on Wednesday that a well-known Guatemalan journalist who has been in prison for more than two years is being held in inhumane conditions “that amount to torture and could put his life in danger.”

Jose Ruben Zamora, 68, a fierce critic of the government of former right-wing President Alejandro Giammattei, was sentenced to six years in prison in May 2023 for money laundering.

The verdict has since been overturned and a new trial ordered. However, he has not yet been released because the public prosecutor has brought another charge against him for obstruction of justice.

Zamora “was reportedly held in solitary confinement for nearly 20 months, in almost constant darkness. Such treatment amounted to torture,” a panel of independent experts reported, according to a statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“It is further alleged that he endured various forms of inhuman or degrading treatment, including sleep deprivation, forced nudity, arbitrary cell searches, and failure to respond to a mite infestation in his cell,” the statement said.

The journalist has been held in a prison in a military barracks in the capital since July 29, 2022.

Zamora, whom Amnesty International describes as a “prisoner of conscience”, insists that the charges against him were fabricated in retaliation for his newspaper's reporting on alleged corruption in the Giammattei government.

His prison conditions improved after social democratic President Bernardo Arevalo came to power in January in a country plagued by corruption, inequality and violent crime.

Arevalo recently accused the Attorney General and the prosecutors with whom he is in dispute of “abuse of power.” He accused them of attempting a coup because they tried to use legal means to prevent him from taking power.

Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned in the US and EU for corruption, has repeatedly refused to resign.

The UN panel of experts also raised concerns about alleged violations of Zamora's “due process” and reported irregularities in the judicial process.

“We are equally concerned that the allegations against him are related to his work as an investigative journalist and anti-corruption journalist and that such tactics have a chilling effect on other journalists in the country,” the statement said.