THE Coalition for Women in Journalism (CFWIJ) has demanded the immediate release of an indigenous reporter jailed in Guatemala last month after reporting on protests against government corruption.

Anastasia Mejia was arrested on September 22 and charged with sedition, aggravated attack, arson and aggravated robbery following a broadcast for the Xol Abaj radio station from the central square of the town of Joyabaj in August.

Ms Mejia was covering a protest organised by local small-business owners and residents angered over the squandering of public resources by the government of Alejandro Giammattei, who came to power in January.

His predecessor, Jimmy Morales, was accused of presiding over a “mafia coalition” in a scathing UN report last year which said that “graft and corruption” had captured the state.

The commission found organised-crime networks in all state institutions, including the judiciary, amid a culture of impunity, bribery and corruption.

Guatemalan security services clashed with the protesters, properties were damaged and a number of buildings were torched as violence intensified.

Ms Meija is being held on arbitrary pre-trial detention according to the CFWIJ, which stated that a court hearing was postponed until October 28 pending “further investigation of the evidence.”

Her lawyers insist there is no evidence to suggest that she was involved in robbery arson, or any activities other than journalism.

Ms Mejia is being held for the “crime” of being the voice of the public, they said, with the charges aimed at silencing opposition and intimidating other journalists and rights activists.

The CFWIJ said that Ms Meija had been deliberately targeted by Guatemalan authorities because of her status as an indigenous woman and for exposing abuse of power and corruption, adding that the persecution of journalists who speak out is becoming the modus operandi of the state.

The coalition described her arrest as “a clear attack against freedom of expression and the public’s right to information,” and demanded her immediate release.

“We demand Guatemalan authorities prosecute those who commit crimes and not those who report on them.”