Guatemalan prosecutors have charged journalist José Rubén Zamora with money laundering, extortion and other charges.
Zamora was arrested last week and the offices of the newspaper he founded, El Periodico, were raided. denounced the actions in retaliation for earlier reports on Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who earlier this year designated Attorney General Consuelo Porras for "gross corruption." , was charged with peddling influence, and intimidation.
When he was arrested, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office told AFP that Zamora was being investigated "as a businessman, not for his work as a journalist."
Zamora asked bankers to help him deposit 300,000 quetzals ($37,500) in Guatemala's banking system to hide the "true origin" of the funds, according to complaints Monday.
At the hearing, the prosecutor presented as evidence cash that Zamora allegedly delivered to the bankers by courier.
According to Monterroso, banker Ronald Garcia told prosecutors that Mr. Zamora may have received money from several businessmen, but he has been negative about them. He said he "blackmailed" him not to release the information.
Zamora states that the lawsuit against him was a "hoax" by Jamatei and Porras.
The Guatemalan government has distanced itself from Zamora's arrest, which has prompted calls for freedom of expression to be respected and warnings of attacks against independent media.
} In June, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights added Guatemala to the list of countries accused of gross human rights violations, a claim Mr Giamatei denies. Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are also on the list.
The Public Prosecutor's Office, under Porras' command, has been criticized for arresting and prosecuting several anti-Mafia judges and prosecutors.
