Guatemalan Journalists Urge Court to Protect Press Freedom Amid Case Reopening Bid

A group of Guatemalan journalists has appealed to the nation's highest court to safeguard freedom of expression as prosecutors seek to revive a criminal case against them. The journalists, formerly associated with the defunct elPeriódico newspaper, argue the legal action constitutes persecution for their reporting on judicial irregularities.

The Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity (FECI) wants to investigate the journalists and columnists for obstruction of justice. This follows their commentary on judicial anomalies related to the case of the newspaper's founder, José Rubén Zamora Marroquín. The FECI filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court after lower courts dismissed the case.

During a public hearing, the journalists urged the court to uphold freedom of expression, citing years of judicial harassment under former Attorney General Consuelo Porras. This pressure has forced several communicators into exile. Journalist Alexander Valdez, who returned to Guatemala after three years abroad, stated that the Constitutional Court has an opportunity to set a precedent and end the criminalization of the press.

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The Constitutional Court has the opportunity to set a precedent and end the criminalization of the press for the simple exercise of their informative work.

Besides Valdez, the FECI aims to charge former elPeriódico director Julia Corado, ex-information chief Gerson Ortiz, reporters Cristian Vélix, Rony Ríos, and Denis Aguilar, and former columnists Gonzalo Marroquín and Edgar Gutiérrez. The defense lawyers reminded the court that previous rulings affirmed the case should be handled by a Press Tribunal, not a criminal court, citing the Law of Freedom of Expression.

Despite the FECI and former Attorney General Porras pushing the appeal, neither appeared at the hearing. The FECI claims the publications damaged Porras's honor. However, the defense argues that various tribunals have reiterated guarantees of freedom of thought and the press. The new Attorney General, Gabriel García Luna, recently announced a commission to review the situation of exiled journalists, prosecutors, judges, and activists who fear judicial persecution.

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This is an administrative instance, not criminal, so what the various courts in the country have done is reiterate the guarantee of freedom of expression, freedom of the press.