In a joint letter led by the Committee to Protect Journalists, eight international press freedom and human rights organizations urged Guatemala’s incoming attorney general, Gabriel García Luna, to end the use of criminal prosecutions against journalists, drop politically motivated cases, and ensure safe conditions for exiled reporters to return.
Over the past eight years, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has been used to systematically target independent journalists through legal harassment, forced exile, and arbitrary detention. Journalist Jose Rubén Zamora, whose imprisonment has been widely condemned as retaliation for his corruption reporting, has become the most visible symbol of this crackdown. More than 20 journalists fled the country between 2022 and 2023, while killings of media workers continue with near-total impunity.
The organizations call on García Luna to dismiss all unfounded cases tied to journalistic work, guarantee safe return conditions for exiled reporters, and restore the independence and credibility of the prosecutor’s office.
Read the full statement here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.