Philippines holds journalist whose website criticises Duterte

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, whose news site has repeatedly clashed with President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested at her Manila office on Wednesday in what press freedom advocates branded an act of “persecution”.

Her detention on a charge of “cyberlibel” is a dramatic escalation in government pressure bearing down on Ressa and her website Rappler, which was already facing tax evasion charges that could shut it down.

It comes after Duterte has cracked down on high-profile critics in the press and legislature who dared oppose his signature antidrug campaign, which has killed thousands.

“She’s been arrested and she’s been read her rights,” Rappler cofounder Beth Frondoso told AFP. Later, Rappler said in a tweet that Ressa would have to spend the night at the National Bureau of Investigation, the unit that detained her, as lawyers tried to find a court to post bail.

Ressa, who was named a Time Magazine Person of the Year last year for her journalism, left the Rappler offices with plainclothes officers and surrounded by cameras.

“The case is ridiculous and the fact that they issue an arrest warrant is a travesty of justice,” Ressa told journalists. “This is what journalists in the Philippines now have to go through.”

Rappler has drawn the administration’s ire since publishing reports critical of Duterte’s war on drugs, which critics say has targeted the poor and could amount to crimes against humanity.

However, the new case against Ressa and former Rappler reporter Reynaldo Santos Jnr stems from a 2012 report written about a business person’s alleged ties to a then judge in the nation’s top court. While investigators initially dismissed the business person’s 2017 complaint about the article, the case was subsequently forwarded to prosecutors for their consideration.

Philippine journalists immediately attacked the surprise serving of the warrant at Rappler headquarters. “The arrest of ... Ressa on the clearly manipulated charge of cyberlibel is a shameless act of persecution by a bully government,” said the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. “The government ... now proves it will go to ridiculous lengths to forcibly silence critical media.”

Amnesty International swiftly condemned the arrest as “brazenly politically motivated”. “In a country where justice takes years to obtain, we see the charges against her being railroaded,” it said in a statement.

The Philippines tumbled six places last year in the Reporters Without Borders rankings of press freedom to 133rd out of 180, with the body noting that the government has pressured and silenced critics.

Duterte has lashed out at other critical media outfits, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper and broadcaster ABS-CBN. He threatened to go after their owners over alleged unpaid taxes or block the network’s franchise renewal.

Some of the crackdown’s highest-profile detractors have wound up behind bars, including senator Leila de Lima.