GUATEMALA CITY –  A prominent investigative journalist has been released to house arrest in Guatemala, after his case shone a light on questions of democratic backsliding in the country. Jose Ruben Zamora, the award-winning founder of the newspaper El Periodico, had been imprisoned for more than 800 days as he awaits a retrial on money laundering charges.

But a judge on Friday decided that the legal system could no longer keep the journalist locked up as his case continues to wind through the courts. “We are imposing house arrest,” Judge Erick Garcia ruled on Friday. Garcia added that Zamora will be forced to appear every eight days before authorities, to ensure his compliance. “He is also forbidden to leave the country without judicial authorization.”

Prior to his arrest and detention, Zamora had built a reputation as one of Guatemala’s foremost investigative journalists, launching investigations into corruption at the highest levels of government. Press freedom groups — and Zamora himself — have argued that his imprisonment was retaliation for his reporting and that of his newsroom at El Periodico.

In the lead-up to Friday’s decision, 19 international human rights and advocacy groups issued an open letter to the Guatemalan government calling for due process to be respected in Zamora’s case. The signatories, which included Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists, also denounced “the violations of his human rights”. “International experts have raised alarming concerns that the conditions of Zamora’s imprisonment could constitute torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment,” they wrote. “Such conditions are a grave violation of human dignity and justice.”

Zamora’s case has long been riddled with what critics consider startling irregularities. In July 2022, he was arrested for alleged money laundering. Prosecutors later levied a second set of charges against him, for obstruction of justice and using falsified documents.

However, press freedom advocates say Zamora’s case mirrors other attempts in Guatemala to use the court system to silence critics. Lawyers and judges formerly involved in the prosecution of corruption have found themselves under investigation, with some forced to flee the country. A United Nations-backed effort to tamp out corruption, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), was also abruptly shuttered in 2022 after a government backlash. (Al Jazeera) …[+]