the fact that a person is referred to by state agents in the media as the perpetrator of a crime when he has not yet been legally tried or convicted may constitute a violation of Article 8(2) of the Convention. 255 259. In the instant case, the Commission and the representatives argued that this right had been violated because the alleged victims were presented to public opinion as being among those “responsible” for the murder of the mayor. This information was allegedly published in: a) press releases issued by the PGJEM; b) news articles published in the national press; and c) a government report, issued during the investigation and prosecution of the criminal case against them, in which they were mentioned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. 260. On this matter, the Court agrees with the State when it affirms that information published in news articles by various media outlets cannot, in principle, be attributable to the State. This is even more important when the victim of a homicide is a public figure. In order to prove such points, evidence must be provided to corroborate that these media reports responded to requests from State authorities or that the information was maliciously forwarded to the media so that it could be published. 261. On the other hand, with respect to these press releases and news articles, it should be recalled that Article 8(5) of the American Convention establishes that “[t]he criminal proceedings shall be public, except insofar as may be necessary to protect the interests of justice.” This Court has indicated that one of the main features that a criminal trial must have during its substantiation is its public nature, which is an essential element of the accusatorial system of criminal procedure in a democratic State. This is guaranteed by holding an oral stage in which the accused is able to have direct access to the judge and to the evidence, and which also facilitates access to the public. The right to a public trial is protected by several international instruments as an essential element of judicial guarantees. 256 The public nature of the trial has the function of proscribing the secret administration of justice, subjecting it to the scrutiny of the parties and the public, and is related to the need for transparency and impartiality in the decisions taken. It is also a means of promoting confidence in the courts of justice. Public proceedings specifically refer to access to information on the proceedings by the parties and even by third parties. 257 262. Regarding the press releases issued by the PGJEM, the Court notes that the State disputes their authenticity alleging that: a) they lack official identification or the institutional logo of the justice institutions of the state of Mexico, and b) they contain inaccurate information. The Court was unable to verify the origin of these newsletters. In fact, the newsletters submitted by the Commission as annexes to the Merits Report are press releases that contain the following annotations at the end: “Copyright Grupo Reforma news service.” Moreover, these notes do not contain the PGJEM’s reference numbers or cover pages. Thus, it cannot be reliably concluded that these news items are official press releases or newsletters of the PGJEM. 258 As for the news items submitted by the Commission in another annex to its Merits Report entitled “[e]xtracts of news articles included in the national press, citing the PGJEM as an information source,” 259 the Court notes that these are not official newsletters of the PGJEM, but rather news items from the press that would have consulted, as the case may be, sources from the PGJEM. With regard to the press 255 Cf. Case of Pollo Rivera et al. v. Peru, supra, para. 177, and Case of Acosta et al. v. Nicaragua. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of March 25, 2017. Series C No. 334, para. 190. 256 Cf. Case of Palamara Iribarne v. Chile, supra, para. 166. Cf. Case of Palamara Iribarne v. Chile, supra, para. 168; Case of J. v. Peru. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs, supra, para. 217, and Case of Girón et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of October 15, 2019. Series C No. 390, para. 120. 257 258 Cf. “Press releases issued by the PGJEM”, Annex 2, Merits Report (evidence file, folios 379 to 457). 259 Cf. “Extracts of news items included in the national press, citing the PGJEM as the information source” (evidence file, folios 458 to 581). -67-