washington — A Guatemalan judge ordered prominent journalist Jose Ruben Zamora back to prison this week in a move that the leader of his legal team called “inhumane.”

Zamora on Monday returned to Mariscal Zavala prison in Guatemala City on the orders of Judge Erick Garcia, whose decision came after another court revoked house arrest from the elPeriodico founder.

The publisher is awaiting another trial in a money-laundering case that press freedom groups say is politically motivated.

“We’re very troubled by what’s happening in Jose Ruben Zamora’s case, because what we’re seeing here is a total breakdown of rule of law in Guatemala,” Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who is leading Zamora’s international legal team, told VOA.

“He obviously shouldn’t have spent a single day in prison. This latest revocation of his house arrest terms is legally problematic, grossly unfair and inhumane,” Gallagher added.

Zamora, 67, attended the hearing on Monday. Near the end of his appearance, he called the ruling “arbitrary.”

During the hearing, the judge said he and his staff had been threatened by unnamed individuals, but he did not elaborate.

“They left him cornered with no way out,” Zamora said in court.

Zamora founded elPeriodico in 1996. The newspaper was known for its investigations into corruption across multiple governments in Guatemala.

But in 2022, authorities arrested Zamora and later froze the newspaper’s assets. The publication was forced to shutter in 2023.

A court later sentenced Zamora to six years in prison on money-laundering charges. An appeals court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial for 2025.

Zamora’s legal team has rejected all the accusations. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has also determined that Zamora’s detention is arbitrary and called for his release.

The publisher spent more than 800 days in prison before a court in October granted him house arrest while he awaited his new trial. Another court in November revoked Zamora’s house arrest, but his lawyers were able to postpone the order for a few months.

Artur Romeu, director of the Latin America bureau of Reporters Without Borders, called the decision to reimprison Zamora a “blatant case of judicial weaponization.”

In response to a request for comment, Guatemala’s Washington embassy directed VOA to comments made earlier this week by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo about Zamora.

“This is an absolutely baseless case that exposes the worst of the crisis in our judicial system and highlights the criminalization strategies being implemented by the Public Ministry,” Arevalo said Monday.

The Public Ministry is Guatemala’s Justice Ministry. It is led by Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras, who was sanctioned by the European Union in 2024 for “undermining democracy,” including by targeting journalists and trying to prevent Arevalo from assuming office.

During Zamora’s previous time in prison, the publisher was subjected to conditions that Gallagher characterized as “inhumane and degrading” and “a violation of international standards.”

Zamora’s health was better while under house arrest, Gallagher said, but now his legal team is concerned about the environment he returned to.

“Being returned to those conditions is horrifying and unacceptable,” Gallagher said.

Nine press freedom and rights groups this week called for Zamora’s immediate release.

“We urge Guatemalan authorities to guarantee his right to a fair and impartial trial, free from undue interference and pressure,” they said in a joint statement.

Zamora’s case underscores a global trend in which politically motivated legal proceedings and trials against journalists are drawn out over a long time, according to Gallagher.

Gallagher’s other clients include jailed pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong; Nobel laureate Maria Ressa from the Philippines; and the family of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in Malta in 2017.

“What we’re seeing in Jose Ruben Zamora’s case in Guatemala, or Jimmy Lai’s case in Hong Kong, are these very prolonged proceedings which actually keep the person in prison and try to hold the international response at bay for as long as possible,” Gallagher said. “That’s a real problem.”

Which twenty-six Reds will we see?

A good bit has changed about the nature of the Cincinnati Reds roster mix since last we gave our best guess at who might be included on it come Opening Day.

Spencer Steer’s shoulder maintained its issues, and he received a cortisone shot back on March 1st. Andrew Abbott, though, has seen his shoulder progress well enough that he threw a pair of IP in a AAA game just yesterday. Rhett Lowder is still behind schedule, unfortunately, but at least it looks like he’s moving forward and not backwards. Speaking of ‘back,’ Tyler Stephenson headed for an MRI after lingering back pain.

Rule 5 draftee Cooper Bowman was sent back to the Oaksacvegas Athletics, while former top prospect Noelvi Marte was officially sent down to AAA.

That’s a lot to process, as are the risks of losing players in camp as non-roster invitees if they aren’t selected to start the season. Same goes for players with no options remaining, as they very well could be scooped up on waivers if not placed on the roster from day one.

With Opening Day now less that two weeks away (!!), here’s our latest, greatest estimate of which Reds will make up the Opening Day roster.

Catcher

I’ve got Tyler Stephenson (1) still on here alongside Jose Trevino (2), as all initial reports on Ty Steve’s back are that his issue is minor. It may mean we see more of Jose in the lineup early on, so far there’s nothing to suggest these aren’t the two backstops they’ll carry from day one.

Infielders (5)

Elly De La Cruz (3) and Matt McLain (4) are the cornerstones of this team, and they’ll form the middle infield. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (5) and Jeimer Candelario (6) seem to be locks in the corner rotation, while Santiago Espinal (7) has solidified his spot as the do-it-all infielder in reserve.

Gavin Lux

Gavin Lux (8)! He’ll see time at 3B, 2B, LF, and even at DH when the time is right. Since I’ve got Spencer Steer beginning the year on the IL, Lux’s versatility will help offset that usually created by having Steer on the roster for the time being.

Outfielders (5)

TJ Friedl (9) is back and healthy and poised to be the everyday CF and leadoff man all 4-WAR style once again. He’ll be flanked by Jake Fraley (10) and Austin Hays (11) most days, with Stuart Fairchild (12) a RHH option on days when Terry Francona wants to stack those up against southpaws. That brings us to Blake Dunn (13), whose RHH ability wins out in this mix over Will Benson since Lux, a LHH, is filling the ‘move anywhere when it’s time to switch’ role previously occupied by Steer, a RHH. In other words, I think Francona will choose to have one more righty bat around than another lefty.

Starting Rotation

Hunter Greene (14) will start on Opening Day, as well he should. He’ll be flanked in some order by each of Nick Martinez (15), Brady Singer (16), and Nick Lodolo (17) for sure at this point. Since the season is long as all heck, I just don’t think the Reds will rush back Andrew Abbott at anything less than ‘full stretched out,’ so I expect him to begin on the IL and miss a turn or two through the rotation - if anything, that may make him even more valuable down the stretch in August/September. I think the Reds carry Carson Spiers (18) as something of ‘starter on an expected bullpen day’ for the time being.

Bullpen

I don’t believe Graham Ashcraft (19) starts the year in the minors - rather, I think he’s carried as the piggyback guy for Spiers’ turn through the rotation with the expecation that he can fill-in for multiple IP when needed in a role akin to how Martinez began last year. Brent Suter (20), Sam Moll (21), and Taylor Rogers (22) form the LHP corps in the ‘pen, while Alexis Díaz (23) will resume his role as the closer. RHP options Emilio Pagán (24) and Scott Barlow (25) have guaranteed money on their deals, so they’ll be down there until they prove ten times they shouldn’t be, leaving one final spot that I’m expected to be filled by Tony Santillan (26) - he pitched well enough last year to deserve it and he’s out of options, so that’s a no-brainer.

Notes

Steer and Abbott are the two notable omissions here. Despite how dismal the Reds have begun seasons in recent memory (and how much that has folded any and all optimism entering those years immediately), I just think they’ll play it safe with them (and Lowder). Abbott getting ~27-28 starts is still very much viable, as is Steer surpassing 550 PA.

Ian Gibaut being back in camp is cool, and he’s fanned 8 against a lone walk in 7.0 IP so far this spring. He’s not on the roster, however, as a NRI on a minor league deal, so I don’t expect him to beat out the rest of the options above. That said, I do think he’s showing enough right now to firmly be in the mix as the first bullpen arm promoted when the inevitable dings happen to the rostered names ahead of him.

Chase Petty has looked really, really solid so far in camp, and at this rate he’ll make his debut (and more) as a Red at some point this year...just not on Opening Day or in the first few turns of the rotation, assuming all goes well elsewhere.