Philippines journalists decry ‘intimidation’ as website editor arrested
PHILIPPINES The editor of an online newspaper in the Philippines as been arrested on charges of “cyberlibel” as part of what the country’s journalists’ union said was a campaign of intimidation against voices critical of President Rodrigo Duterte. Maria Ressa’s colleagues at Rappler posted a livestream on Facebook of officials speaking to her at the website’s headquarters on Wednesday. The charge of cyber-libel, which Ressa denies, was filed by the justice department and the warrant for Ressa’s arrest was issued by a Manila court judge on Tuesday. After she was arrested, Ressa was brought to the National Bureau of Investigations, which is under the department of justice.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) of the Philippines described the arrest as a “shameless act of persecution by a bully government”. The charges against Ressa relate to a story published on Rappler’s website in May 2012 which alleged ties between a top Philippine businessman Wilfredo D Keng and a high court judge. The controversial cyber-libel law that she is being prosecuted under was enacted four months after the story was written.
Ressa’s arrest comes just two months after she turned herself in to authorities over charges of tax evasion at Rappler. Speaking on her release on bail in December, Ressa accused the Philippine government of trying to “intimidate and harass” journalists and “weaponising the rule of law” against its critics. Rappler, which is one of the most influential news sites in the Philippines, has also been one of the news outlets most critical of Duterte’s administration since he took power in 2016. In particular, it has scrutinized his government over the brutal war on drugs, which officially has taken more than 5,000 lives, though human rights groups allege the true figure is more than double that.
Ressa’s refusal to back down has won her plaudits around the world. She was named a Time magazine person of the year in 2018, and won the 2018 Knight International Journalism award and this year’s prestigious Press Freedom award, given by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
(The Guardian)