The Public Ministry (MP) sent a letter to the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinkto explain points about the possible investigation against journalists, derived from the criminal case against Jose Ruben Zamora. In the note, the Prosecutor’s Office explains to the US official that it is not about persecution against journalists in their exercise, “but that it only implies investigate the possibility of systematic and coordinated actions that may be taken to try to obstruct the administration of justice”.
The letter dated March 3 is in response to the statement issued by the United States government, through which they point to the Prosecutor’s Office for “persecution of journalists.” Before sending the note, the MP had already responded to what was expressed by the Americans.
This is not the first time that the Prosecutor’s Office has sent a public communication to the authorities of that nation. On previous occasions, he has also requested to go directly to the MP to find out details of ongoing investigations.
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Communication was sent through diplomatic channels addressed to the Secretary of State of the Government of the United States of America, Antony J. Blinken.@SecBlinken @MinexGt pic.twitter.com/AaurSxr2Bw— Guatemalan MP (@MPguatemala) March 3, 2023
The letter sent to Antony Blinken
“The Public Ministry of Guatemala to the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Antony J. Blinken, is permitted to communicate
That for the Public Prosecutor’s Office, it is imperative, with due respect, that we be able to address the Secretary of State of the United States of America, to state that in relation to the statement issued on March 2, 2023, entitled “Persecution of Journalists in Guatemala”, The information that is transferred to you today, regarding the events related in your communication, is the official one, for which we respectfully request that in future opportunities, do not be surprised by any type of information that is not official, and in the case of the judicial matter, other than that which works in the respective file, by virtue of the fact that any information transferred in the case of criminal prosecution, by someone who is not the institution that is constitutionally and by law mandate to exercise it, it can lend itself to undue interpretations or be based on perceptions that are not related to procedural truth.
In this sense, and always in attention to the fact that the Government of the United States of America, through the valuable support of the different agencies that They work hand in hand with the different prosecutors of the Public Ministry, such as DEA, FBI, HSIamong others, have always provided extraordinary support, we allow ourselves to report for your knowledge and the consequent effects, what Guatemalan law allows to report, given that article 314 of the Criminal Procedure Code indicates that all investigative acts will be reserved for the strangers and their knowledge correspond exclusively to the parties involved, except for what has already been disclosed in a public hearing.
For this purpose we allow ourselves to inform you that, The guarantee judge considered the means presented during the first statement hearing and ordered the Public Ministry to investigate whether there is a possible commission of the crime of obstruction of justice, For this reason, it certified what was pertinent by virtue of the fact that attempts have possibly been made to threaten or coerce justice operators and procedural subjects, in order to influence their behavior and hinder their functions, intervention and participation, which is why the Public Ministry did not You can disobey a judge’s order, since it would imply violating the law and generating impunity. And knowing that the Government of the United States of America will always support compliance with the laws of any country, they will agree with us that no act that may have the characteristics of illegality ceases to be investigated by the legally constituted instances and can, in Consequently, go unpunished.
In this sense, the Public Ministry has the legal obligation to investigate and it is only through technical, objective and impartial investigation that it can be established whether or not there is the commission of an act constituting a crime, which the judge will also assess later. and will resolve in accordance with what is previously established by law, guaranteeing respect for all guarantees and rights, with the parties having the opportunity to challenge any action with which they do not agree
Said actions that may still be developed in the future cannot be considered as an action to persecute journalists for the exercise of the free emission of thought.but it implies only investigating the possibility of systematic and coordinated actions that may be carried out to try to obstruct the administration of justice.
The Public Ministry has always respected the free emission of thought, the investigation has nothing to do with criticism or journalistic practice, on the contrary, it derives from the fact that it was possible to show that possibly Mr. José Rubén Zamora Marroquín as a procedural subject may have an interest in vitiating the criminal process of which he is a procedural party and presumably he could have arranged with other people to possibly use the means of communication that he owns to obstruct the investigation of your particular casesince he is being prosecuted for the possible crimes of money laundering, or other assets, blackmail, influence peddling and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
It is important to indicate that The ordered investigation is not against any person for the possible commission of a crime against honor, as regulated by the Thought Emission Law, but rather it is a crime against the administration of justice in accordance with what is established by the Article 9 of the Law against Organized Crime, Therefore, the investigation that is carried out has the purpose of finding out the truth, and from the result of the same, to determine if it is accused or dismissed, among other procedural solutions established by law.
Within the framework of the aforementioned, we allow ourselves to extend a cordial invitation, so that designate the personnel of the Department of
State, so that they approach the Public Prosecutor’s Office and by voice they can have knowledge of what the law allows regarding the case in question, always respecting the legal framework that governs Guatemala. Likewise, we allow ourselves to attach a copy of the various judgments of the Honorable Constitutional Court that have generated jurisprudence in Guatemala on the subject, as well as a copy of the judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights”.