15 assess the documentary probative elements remitted by the parties at the proper procedural moments, the statements and testimony provided by affidavit and during the public hearing, and also the helpful evidence requested by the Court and, subsequently, it will assess this when establishing the proven facts and ruling on the merits, taking into account the whole body of evidence and the observations of the parties.39 To this end, it will abide by the principle of sound judicial criteria, within the corresponding legal framework. 40 In addition, the statements made by the presumed victims will be assessed in the context of all the evidence in the proceedings, insofar as they can provide further information on the presumed violations and their consequences.41 Regarding newspaper articles or texts which refer to facts related to this case, their assessment is not subject to the formalities required by testimonial evidence. However, their probative value will depend on whether they corroborate or refer to aspects related to this specific case.42. VI. FACTS A) Background and context 45. The Court recalls that the factual framework of the proceedings before it are constituted by the facts contained in the Merits Report submitted to the Court’s consideration.43 Consequently, it is not admissible for the parties to allege new facts that differ from those contained in the said report, without prejudice to describing those that explain, clarify or reject the facts mentioned in the report and that have been submitted to the Court’s consideration.44 The exception to this principle are facts that are classified as supervening, provided that they are related to the facts of the proceedings. Accordingly, in this chapter, the Court will only take into account the facts included in the Merits Report.45 A.1. Determination of the context of the facts of the case 46. The representatives argued that this case was based on two contexts. The first context was related to “a particular institutional situation created by the political climate established following the presidential re-election in December 2006, characterized by the extreme radicalization of the government’s polarizing discourse and the increasing concentration of power in the hands of the President of the Republic.” As part of the alleged context, they mentioned the “political climate” surrounding the proposed constitutional reform of 2007, the 2007 referendum, and the “Enabling Law” of that year. The representatives referred to the second context as the “constitutional hegemony of the government as the original goal and para. 38 and Case of Cruz Sánchez v. Peru, para. 125. 39 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits, para. 146, and Case of Cruz Sánchez v. Peru, para. 104. Cf. Case of the “White Van” (Paniagua Morales et al.) v. Guatemala, para. 52, and Case of Cruz Sánchez v. Peru, para. 129. 40 41 Cf. Case of Loayza Tamayo v. Peru. Merits, para. 43, and Case of Cruz Sánchez v. Peru, para. 131. 42 Cf. Case of Radilla Pacheco v. Mexico. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 23, 2009. Series C No. 209, para. 72, and Case of the Massacres of El Mozote and nearby places v. El Salvador. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of August 19, 2013. Series C No. 264, para. 37. Cf. Case of the “Five Pensioners” v. Peru. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of February 28, 2003. Series C No. 98, para. 153, and Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 20, 2014. Series C No. 289, para. 35. 43 44 Cf. Case of “Five Pensioners” v. Peru, para. 153, and Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru, para. 35. In particular, the facts presented by the representatives that will not be taken into account are: (i) “the closure and threat of closure of other audiovisual and radio media services,” especially Globovisión; (ii) the presumed “exclusion of RCTV International from the program content of subscription services,” and (iii) the facts related to the loss of work of the employees as a result of RCTV’s closure. 45