(APG/IFEX) – The following is a 20 January 2004 APG Press Freedom Committee press release: APG calls on authorities to investigate individuals implicated in raid on Zamora’s home The Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists’ Association (Asociación de Periodistas de Guatemala, APG) calls on the Guatemalan authorities to immediately, and with transparency, act on […]
(APG/IFEX) – The following is a 20 January 2004 APG Press Freedom Committee press release:
APG calls on authorities to investigate individuals implicated in raid on Zamora’s home
The Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists’ Association (Asociación de Periodistas de Guatemala, APG) calls on the Guatemalan authorities to immediately, and with transparency, act on information that journalist José Rubén Zamora has made public regarding a 24 June 2003 raid on his home. According to investigations carried out by Zamora, director of elPeriódico newspaper, government officials were involved in the raid.
As a result of the justice system’s ineffectiveness in investigating the raid on his home, Zamora himself began an investigative process that led to the identification of three men and a woman. The four were allegedly among those responsible for the raid, as well as the threats and physical abuse suffered by Zamora and his family.
According to Zamora, the investigations revealed that Erick Alexander Johnston Barrera, Belter Armando Álvarez Castillo, Eduvijes Funes Velásquez and Iris Edith Soto López participated in the raid. Johnston Barrera is an official close to Attorney General Carlos de León Argueta, Álvarez Castillo and Funes Velásquez are former presidential guard (Estado Mayor Presidencial, EMP) employees and Soto López is a National Civil Police (Policía Nacional Civil) counter-intelligence officer.
The results of the investigation demonstrate the government’s participation in criminal acts. As such, the Press Freedom Committee reiterates its support for Zamora and his family. In addition, the Committee demands that the judiciary take action against those responsible for the attack, which once again has tested the justice system’s credibility, especially that of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Press Freedom Committee condemns the lack of results in the investigation of cases such as this, which endanger the lives of journalists. As a result, the victims of these attacks are, similar to Zamora, forced to initiate their own investigations, putting themselves in danger in order to identify those responsible for committing criminal acts against them.
The Press Freedom Committee is also outraged at the failure of former president Alfonso Portillo and former foreign affairs minister Edgar Gutiérrez to order an investigation into the attack. According to Zamora, Portillo and Gutiérrez have known since September who the alleged perpetrators were since Zamora provided them with photographs as well as the assailants’ names and positions.
On 24 June, at 8:45 a.m., 11 men and one woman, identifying themselves as employees of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, burst into Zamora’s house. For two hours, the assailants harassed Zamora and his family, brandishing their weapons and threatening to kill them. Three days later, the journalist’s family decided to leave the country as a result of the persecution to which they were being subjected.
Guatemalan journalists demand results, not just words. The Press Freedom Committee will remain vigilant and ensure that journalists’ basic rights are protected. We urge the international community and national and international press associations to be attentive to the situation in Guatemala.
Guatemala, 20 January 2004