Sitting Case Arrest Of Philippine Journalist Maria Ressa Who Often Criticizes The Government

JAKARTA - Philippine journalist who is known to be an opposition to the government, Maria Ressa, was sentenced to six years in prison for the case of "defamation on social media (cyber libel)". The verdict is accused of injuring press freedom in the country because of a deliberately fabricated case. What's the case like?

Quoting The Guardian, Manila Court Judge Rainelda Estacio issued a verdict that Ressa, who is a media editor for Rappler and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr., was guilty of defamation in cyber media in 2017. In addition, they were also rewarded with 3,978 US dollars for the charges. plus a fine of the same amount in other cases. Yes, Ressa has indeed stumbled over many cases.

This case relates to a story published in the media in May 2012. The story reveals the alleged collusion between a Filipino businessman Wilfredo D Keng and a high court judge. This case has been rolling since 2017.

This case was stopped by the National Bureau of Investigation because it was outside the bounds of the law. But in 2018, the justice department allowed the case to reopen.

Ressa and her legal advisers pointed out that the controversial defamation law did not exist when the article was published. However, the justice department allowed the case to go ahead because the article was updated several months later to correct spelling errors.

Apart from this case, Ressa is also facing other charges, such as allegations of illegal foreign ownership of shares in her company and an investigation into tax matters. Rappler's operating license was also revoked due to this problem.

Apart from this case, Ressa and her media, who have researched Duterte's ugliness, have been attacked by many accusations regarding Rappler's finances. The various charges if accumulated could result in a sentence of up to one hundred years in prison.

As is known, the site where Ressa works has exposed corrupt practices, bot troops and documentation about Duterte's brutal anti-drug campaign. Recently, as a result of its drug-eradication policies, the United Nations commemorated Duterte for causing widespread extrajudicial killings.

Still citing The Guardian, in the eradication of drugs, according to government data, at least 8,663 people have been killed in the crackdown. Meanwhile, other estimates put the number of victims three times that.

According to The Guardian, this case was seen as an attempt to suppress the media. It is suspected that a businessman intervened about a story written five years ago relating to his relationship with a judge at the country's high court.

At a press conference after the announcement of the verdict, Ressa vowed to keep fighting. "Freedom of the press is the basis of every right you have as a citizen of the Philippines. If we didn't have the power to report, we wouldn't be able to do anything," he said.

Meanwhile, a team of lawyers for Ressa from Doughty Street Chambers, England, Amal Clooney said the court had conspired to silence a journalist for exposing corruption and abuse of power. "This conviction is an insult to the rule of law, a stern warning to the press and a blow to democracy in the Philippines. I hope that the appeals court will straighten out this case," said Clooney.

The arrest case has come under fire from human rights groups. They also urged the UN to step in to warn the government of the apparent pattern of intimidation against independent media in the country.