"An indictment is issued against José Rubén Zamora for the possible commission of the crimes of influence peddling, blackmail and money and other property laundering, and it is delivered to the trial from from now," Judge Freddy Orellana said in his ruling.

Mr. Zamora, dressed in a blue suit, listened to the judgment in the calm and masked in the courtroom of the courthouse of the Guatemalan capital.

Investigators now have three months to deepen their investigations around the journalist who accused President Giammattei and Attorney General Consuelo Porras of being behind his July 29 arrest, which the government denies.

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While the investigation continues, Mr. Zamora will be placed in pre-trial detention in a prison located within a military base in northern Guatemala.

At the end of the hearing, José Rubén Zamora denounced an "irregular" search which would have taken place on Monday on returning to his cell, which made him fear for his safety.

He recalled that he enjoys the protection of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

"I would like to hold the State of Guatemala and President Giammattei responsible for my safety," said the journalist, who considers himself "politically persecuted".

According to the prosecution, Mr. Zamora asked banker Ronald García to help him introduce 300,000 quetzales (about 38,000 euros) into the banking system in order to hide "the true origin" of the funds.

During Monday's hearing, the prosecution presented the cash that Mr Zamora allegedly delivered to the banker via a courier, which was documented.

Mr García claims the money may have been obtained by the journalist from several businessmen whom he was "blackmailing" into not publishing information against them, according to the prosecution.

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Mr. Zamora's arrest has sparked a wave of calls for respect for press freedom, as the office of the special prosecutor against impunity argues that the charge against Mr. Zamora falls under his "quality of 'businessman' and not that of a journalist, a claim that the newspaper and the press union reject.

© 2022 AFP