In a landmark decision for the press, the Brazilian Supreme Court of Justice ruled that a suspect's "presumed innocence" does not impede the press from reporting critical facts about the case.
On Dec. 11, the Venezuelan National Association of Journalists (CNP in Spanish) released a statement expressing concern over the $2 million fine the government levied against opposition television station Globovisión.
On Dec. 9, Costa Rican courts opened an avenue to appeal criminal libel sentences thanks to an Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) case involving a defamation charge against a journalist, reported AFP.
Relatives of Juan José Hernández Andrade, the Mexican reporter detained since Dec. 1, said that they managed to raise funds to pay bail to release the journalist so that Hernández could continue his legal battle in freedom.
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, a Peruvian journalist was sentenced to two years in prison for defamation, reported the newspaper La Primera.
Award-winning Colombian journalist Hollman Morris called on Congress to listen to the victims of wiretaps as testimony in the trial and investigation of former president Álvaro Uribe for illegal wiretapping and spying on journalists.
The Mexican Senate approved the decriminalization of slander and libel, reported the newspaper El Universal on Nov. 29.
On Wednesday, Nov. 23, the Mexican Supreme Court denied the appeal of the newspaper La Jornada that had sued the weekly magazine Letras Libres for defamation, according to El Economista.
A court in Ecuador has ratified a six-month prison sentence against a radio broadcaster accused of defaming a doctor two years ago, according to IFEX.
Journalist and mayor of the city of Londrina in the Brazilian state of Paraná, Homero Barbosa Neto, has demanded the removal of a political cartoon published on a blog criticizing the city government, reported Blog do Esmael.