A Guatemalan journalist, founder of El Periódico, celebrated his transfer to house arrest after being jailed for over two years due to his newspaper's anti-corruption investigations. The journalist, aged 68, had been imprisoned since July 2022 on charges of money laundering, which led to a six-year sentence in June 2023. However, the sentence was overturned due to procedural errors, and he is awaiting a possible retrial.
The journalist's son expressed relief at his father's release, emphasizing the importance of defending freedom of the press in Guatemala. International organizations had been advocating for his release, citing concerns that he was targeted for his investigative reporting on those in power.
