GUATEMALA CITY (AP) 鈥� A Guatemalan appeals court on Friday overturned the order and ordered his return to jail.
Zamora, founder of El Peri贸dico newspaper, had spent more than two years in jail awaiting trial before a judge granted him house arrest in October.
Prosecutors appealed the order and on Friday another court ordered the 68-year-old journalist to continue waiting in jail.
Zamora had been imprisoned since July 2022, when he was charged with money laundering, amounting to around $38,000, and in June 2023 . The sentence was overturned by an appeals court because of errors in the process, but he鈥檚 waiting to see if he will be granted a retrial.
Jos茅 Zamora, the journalist鈥檚 son, confirmed the appeals court decision, which he called 鈥渋nsanity鈥� and said his father鈥檚 defense team had been notified.
The elder Zamora had been ordered to be moved to house arrest on Oct. 18. The judge had said his pre-trial detention had exceeded legal limits.
After his release, Zamora said that the justice system remained coopted and that he was sure they would try to find a way to return him to jail.
Zamora鈥檚 release had been praised by , who met with Zamora two days after the journalist was freed.
In an interview with The Associated Press after his release, Zamora said he believed it was his paper鈥檚 investigative work that led him to be targeted by prosecutors. In particular, it was his pointed criticism of former President Alejandro Giammattei and his ally, current , who was sanctioned by the United States for allegedly obstructing corruption investigations.
Porras鈥� agents raided Zamora鈥檚 house in July 2022 and arrested him, accusing him of money laundering after he asked a friend to deposit $38,000 that Zamora said was a donation to his news organization.
Zamora said he did not put the money in the bank himself because the person who made the donation feared being retaliated against for supporting the media outlet. He was initially convicted and sentenced to six years, a ruling that was annulled due to procedural failures.
He was later accused of falsifying documents and faced a second trial for allegedly lying in the first case against him.
Ar茅valo has attempted to oust Porras, but Giammattei's extension of her term until May 2026 has left him powerless.
鈥淥nce again they want Jos茅 Rub茅n Zamora to return to prison in a completely abusive and arbitrary way,鈥� Ar茅valo said Friday on X. 鈥淥ur justice system is on trial and the Guatemalan people have been clear in demanding respect for doing journalism.鈥�
鈥淎ny resolution against freedom of expression is illegitimate,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淕uatemala鈥檚 government will take measures to defend freedom of expression.鈥�
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Sonia P茅rez D., The Associated Press
