Anleu, who goes by the user name “Jeanfer,” was arrested in connection with the case of a lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg, who was murdered on May 10 after recording a video in which he suggested that the president of Guatemala, Álvaro Colom, would be responsible for his murder. In his tweet, Anleu urged people who had money deposited in Banrural, a bank at the center of the murder investigation, to remove their funds, and thus break the control that corrupt individuals have over the partially state-owned financial institution.

 

In one day, police raided Anleu’s house, arrested him, sent him before a judge, and sentenced him. News about his arrest and its relation to the Rosenberg case spread online in what is referred to as the “Streisand Effect,” in which an attempt to censor a piece of information backfires, and ultimately causes the information to be more widely publicized. One Twitterer wrote, “The death of attorney Rosenberg has returned [Guatemala] to life.” Others protested that in Guatemala a citizen is more likely to be arrested for a comment than for committing a murder. Street vendors in Guatemala City are selling copies of Rosenberg’s tape, in which he accuses President Colom, among other government officials, of his forthcoming death. The video has also been made widely available online through YouTube.

-Ednar Segura

 

Anleu Paga Fianza y Recupera Libertad (by Olga Lopez Ovando, Prensa Libre)

Guatemala Police Arrest Twitter User for ‘Inciting Financial Panic’ (by Rory Carroll, Guardian)

Guatemalan Twitter User Arrested for “Inciting Financial Panic,” First Arrest of its Kind in Central American History (by Xeni Jardin, Boingboing)

Capturan a Usuario de la Red Social Twitter por Crear Panico Financiero (Prensa Libre)