Press releases Special Procedures

UN experts raise the alarm on terrible conditions in which news publisher, José Rubén Zamora, is being detained in Guatemala

28 August 2024

GENEVA (28 August 2024) – Independent experts have called on the authorities in Guatemala to address urgently allegations of inhumane conditions of detention of journalist, newspaper founder and publisher, José Rubén Zamora, which may amount to torture and endanger his life.

“Mr. Zamora has reportedly been subjected to nearly twenty months of solitary confinement in almost constant darkness. Such treatment would amount to torture,” the experts said.

“It is further alleged that he has endured different forms of inhuman or degrading treatment, including being deprived of sleep, forced nudity, arbitrary cell searches and a failure to respond to a mite infestation in his cell.”

“These bleak prison conditions have reportedly caused a serious deterioration in his physical and mental health, rapid weight loss and declining eyesight. An underlying neurological disorder of polyneuropathy he suffers from has also reportedly been aggravated,” they said.

“We are seriously concerned that Mr. Zamora, who is 67 years of age, has not received appropriate medical treatment for his physical and mental conditions, putting his life at risk. Like all persons deprived of liberty, he is entitled to be treated with dignity and humanity. The reported conditions Mr. Zamora has experienced would violate the absolute prohibition of torture and/or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The experts further expressed their concern about alleged violations of his rights of due process and reported irregularities in court proceedings.

“We are equally concerned that the charges against him are connected to his work as an investigative and anti-corruption journalist and that such tactics create a chilling effect on other journalists in the country, preventing them from exercising their right to report freely and without fear of reprisals.”

The experts have raised the issue directly with the Republic of Guatemala.

The experts: Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons; Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page – Guatemala

For more information and media requests, please contact: hrc-sr-torture@un.org.

For media inquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) or Safa Msehli (safa.msehli@un.org).

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X platform @UN_SPExperts

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