The trial of 11 persons accused of killing Brazilian journalist and blogger Décio Sá began on Feb. 3 in the Brazilian state of Maranhão – almost two years after the crime took place, Brazilian news organization G1 reported.
The Delegation for Racial and Intolerance Crimes (Decradi) of the Brazilian state of São Paulo will open an investigation into a controversial video posted by the online website Porta dos Fundos to determine if any laws protecting religious freedom were broken, O Globo reported.
The European Journalism Centre (EJC) released this week the first edition of its Verification Handbook, a free guide in English on fact checking digital content with a focus on emergency coverage.
Salvadorian authorities arrested Francisco Valencia, director of the newspaper Co Latino, late Thursday night. Valencia is accused of slandering a now-retired police chief in 1996, El Salvador.com reported.
Two media outlets in El Salvador have announced that they are going to use nonmilitary drones to cover the upcoming presidential election. The drones are to provide videos, photos and new perspectives of the Feb. 2 election for the 2014-2019 term, said Salvadorian newspapers El Diario de Hoy and La Prensa Gráfica.
The Office of Human Rights in Paraguay (Codehupy) took the torture allegations of Paraguayan journalist Paulo López to multiple UN organizations last week, according to Paraguayan news magazine E’a.
Following the closure of a dozen Venezuelan newspapers due to the country’s paper shortage crisis, hundreds of journalists and journalism students marched down the streets of Caracas on Jan. 28 calling the government to sell foreign currencies to print media outlets so they can purchase much-needed newsprint. The journalists said they will continue to protest until the government resolves the situation, newspaper El Nacional reported.
The Spanish freelance photographer Borja Lázaro is still missing after disappearing on Jan. 8 in the Colombian northeastern department of La Guajira, infamous for drug trafficking and a growing presence of “Bacrim” - criminal paramilitary gangs – Reporters Without Borders informed.
Seventeen years after the murder of the Argentine photojournalist José Luis Cabezas, the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) called for those responsible for the crime be returned to prison.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) applauded the decision by the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court to accept a lawsuit filed last year challenging the legality of the country’s controversial Organic Communications Law. IAPA was hopeful the action will refuel the debate over governmental measures set by the law that limit freedom of expression in the country.