One of the Philippines’ most prominent journalists, Maria Ressa, is facing up to six years in prison after she was found guilty today, 15 June, of “cyber libel” charges, a verdict condemned as setting “an extraordinarily damaging precedent” for press freedoms in the region. The former CNN journalist is the head of a news site that’s critical of strongman President Rodrigo Duterte. A writer for the site, Rappler, was also convicted. Both have been released on bail pending appeal but could face six years in prison.
Ressa denied the charges and claimed they were politically motivated. At a press conference, after the verdict was announced, she vowed to continue fighting.
“Freedom of the press is the foundation of every single right you have as a Filipino citizen. If we can’t hold power to account, we can’t do anything.”
Amal Clooney, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, who leads a team of international lawyers representing Ressa, said the court had become “complicit in a sinister action to silence a journalist for exposing corruption and abuse”.
“This conviction is an affront to the rule of law, a stark warning to the press, and a blow to democracy in the Philippines. I hope that the appeals court will set the record straight in this case.”
Rappler vs Duterte
Ressa has been a journalist for over three decades, previously working for CNN before launching Rappler in 2011. Rappler is an online news platform and the first of its kind in the Philippines. Through the power of social media it has grown into the fourth-biggest news website in the Philippines with over 100 journalists. Rappler also works as a fact-checker for Facebook in the country in the fight against fake news.
The site has scrutinised the administration of Duterte and uncovered corruption and bot armies as well as documented the brutal anti-drugs campaign waged under Duterte, which the UN recently warned had led to “widespread and systematic” extrajudicial killings. Government figures indicate at least 8,663 people have been killed in the crackdown; other estimates put the toll at triple that number.
Rappler’s extensive reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs has earned praise from human rights advocates but has made the site and its journalists a target by supporters of the Duterte administration.
Duterte has branded Rappler a “fake news outlet” and his government insists it is simply enforcing the law as cases pile up against the website.
“The verdict against Maria Ressa highlights the ability of the Philippines’ abusive leader to manipulate the laws to go after critical, well-respected media voices, whatever the ultimate cost to the country,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, in a statement.
“The Rappler case will reverberate not just in the Philippines, but in many countries that long considered the country a robust environment for media freedom.”
One of a series of legal charges
The cyber libel case is just one of a series of legal charges against Ressa and Rappler and the various allegations made against Ressa, which mostly relate to claims about the news site’s finances, could lead to about 100 years in prison.
Ressa faces 9 cases in court in the Philippines, but overall, she, Rappler, its directors, and staff face at least 11 complaints, investigations, and cases.
For instance, In 2019, Ressa was arrested twice and in 2018, Philippine prosecutors filed five cases related to tax evasion against Ressa and Rappler. Some of the charges allege that the company failed to declare about $3 million in 2015 on tax returns from an investment by the Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar.
A blow to press freedom in the Philippines
Media freedom in the Philippines has deteriorated severely under Duterte, who stated in 2016:
“Just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination”.
The country now ranks 136th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index.
Journalists are targeted through judicial harassment, online campaigns waged by pro-Duterte troll armies, and violence. Three Philippine journalists were killed in 2019, probably by thugs working for local politicians, who “can have reporters silenced with complete impunity” according to RSF.
Just last month, the country’s biggest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, was forced off air by a cease-and-desist order that was condemned as a brazen attempt to silence the press. Meanwhile a new anti-terrorism act has been recently passed by lawmakers, allowing warrantless arrests, weeks of detention without charge and other powers that rights groups fear could be used against government critics.
After the verdict, Ressa told the BBC:
“I think what you’re seeing is death by a thousand cuts – not just of press freedom but of democracy.”