Open Letter to José Rubén Zamora, Imprisoned in Guatemala, from Fellow ICFJ Knight Award Winners

By: 06/23/2023
Newspaper founder and editor José Rubén Zamora leaves in handcuffs after a court hearing in Guatemala City on June 14. A tribunal has convicted Zamora and sentenced him to six years in prison in a money laundering case. (AP Photo/Santiago Billy)

Renowned Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, who has been behind bars since July 2022 in pre-trial detention, was sentenced June 14 to six years in prison on spurious money laundering charges. This follows the closing of his news outlet, elPeriódico, in May, after sustained economic and political harassment, including against nine additional members of elPeriódico’s newsroom. 

Dear José Rubén,

Some of our names you will recognize, others you may not. But we enjoy a fellowship: Like you, we are recipients of the ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award, and like you, we deeply believe that independent journalism is vital to inform and empower the public.

For a generation of Guatemalans, elPeriódico delivered unflinching investigative reporting under your leadership, exposing those in power who abused their positions and misused public funds. You and your colleagues did this despite physical attacks, threats and ongoing attempts from successive Guatemalan governments to economically crush your news outlet.

It is devastating that today, the government of Alejandro Giammattei has muzzled elPeriódico’s reporting and that you, one of the most celebrated journalists in Latin America, are behind bars. The authorities targeted you, delivering a message to all truth tellers: Independent journalism has no place here.

You deserve to be free, and the Guatemalan people deserve better. From across the world, we stand with you. We call on authorities to release you immediately. We call on the Guatemalan government to stop harassing your colleagues. And we call on others in the international community to draw attention to your case – an alarming bellwether of the state of press freedom in Guatemala, Central America, and many of our own countries.

In these times of democratic backsliding and rising attacks on a free press, it can be difficult not to despair. But your courage and steadfast commitment to journalism give us all hope and inspire us to do the hard work of speaking truth to power. 

In solidarity,

Karam Al-Masri (Syria)

Roman Anin (Russia)

Justin Arenstein (South Africa)

Carmen Aristegui (Mexico)

Corina Cepoi (Moldova)

Umar Cheema (Pakistan)

Carlos Dada (El Salvador)

Stevan Dojčinović (Serbia)

Priyanka Dubey (India)

Rocío Idalia Gallegos Rodríguez (Mexico)

Pavla Holcová (Czech Republic)

Natália Leal (Brazil)

Sami Mahdi (Afghanistan)

Evgeniy Maloletka (Ukraine)

Frank Nyakairu (Uganda)

Geoffrey Nyarota (Zimbabwe)

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Pakistan)

Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye (Nigeria)

Miranda Patrucic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Joseph Poliszuk (Venezuela)

Paul Radu (Romania)

Maria Ressa (Philippines)

Yoani Sánchez (Cuba)

Anisa Shaheed (Afghanistan)

Rose Wangui (Kenya)

 

Lea la versión en español.

Latest News

Sharon Moshavi on Journalism, Disinformation and Why Facts Still Matter

Sharon Moshavi, the president of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), recently joined the Ink and Insights podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of journalism and the evolving information ecosystem. The interview, hosted by author and storyteller Sumit Sharma Sameer, touched on the growing role of AI in both enhancing and undermining journalistic work, the importance of audience-centric innovation and why young reporters must build subject-matter and tech fluency to stay resilient in the industry.

ICFJ Knight Fellow Sannuta Raghu Says “Fidelity to Source” is Vital When Using AI

Newsrooms globally have begun exploring ways to convert their journalism into different formats using AI: for example, from text articles to videos, podcasts, infographics and more. As they do so, the core challenge isn’t just accuracy – it’s rigor. Journalists strive to get facts right and attribute them clearly, avoid bias, verify claims, and maintain transparency. When AI is used to convert a work of journalism from one form to another, the same rigor may not carry over.

A Reporter's Guide to The History of Tariffs

For most of human history, governments have taxed goods crossing their borders. Tariffs — taxes levied on imports or exports — have financed empires, protected domestic industries, and punished foreign rivals. They’ve sparked wars, crashed economies, and redefined alliances. Yet today’s tariff war between the United States and the world doesn’t fit neatly into any of the old molds. Rather than being a tool to nurture domestic industry or fill government coffers, tariffs are now being wielded as weapons in a sprawling contest over global power and economic dominance.