GUATEMALA CITY, Oct 18 (Reuters) – A Guatemalan judge ruled on Friday that journalist Jose Zamora can leave prison and transition to house arrest after spending over 800 days behind bars.
Zamora, the founder of the now-defunct elPeriodico newspaper, has been a vocal critic of various governments. He was arrested in July 2022 on charges of money laundering, which he claims are politically motivated.
In 2023, he was sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering; however, an appeals court later overturned this conviction and ordered a retrial set for 2025.
Judge Erick Garcia stated that Zamora’s time in preventive detention had exceeded reasonable limits in accordance with human rights standards. “We are imposing house arrest,” Garcia noted in his ruling, adding that Zamora must not leave the country without judicial permission.
“I am very satisfied. I appreciate what is happening,” Zamora expressed after the ruling.
In August, the United Nations indicated that Zamora’s detention conditions could amount to torture, urging authorities to address concerns regarding his treatment in prison.
