UN experts say jailed Guatemalan journalist Zamora may have been tortured

FILE PHOTO: Imprisoned journalist Jose Ruben Zamora Marroquin, founder and president of the newspaper El Periodico, waits for the start of a court hearing in Guatemala City, Guatemala, August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Josue Decavele/File Photo

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday said journalist Jose Ruben Zamora, imprisoned in Guatemala over the last two years, is being held in potentially life-threatening, inhumane conditions that could amount to torture.

Zamora, who founded the now-defunct elPeriodico newspaper, was arrested in July 2022 on money laundering charges, though he says he is a political prisoner due to his work against the Central American nation's then-President Alejandro Giammattei.