London – Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, had to close his newspaper, while Filipino Maria Ressa, who shared the award with him, is closer to being arrested as a result of a cyber libel case carried by the Presidency. state.
The Philippines Court of Appeals dismissed the journalist’s defense’s appeal, and on July 8 upheld the conviction of Rappler’s founder and editor, and journalist Rey Santos Jr., who worked on the site.
He went even further, increasing the maximum possible sentence to six years and eight months. Ressa announced that he would take the case to the Supreme Court.
Nobel Foundation criticized the decision
Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, reacted to the decision in a press release:
“The conviction is based on Maria Ressa’s criticism of how power is used and sometimes abused in the Philippines.
Rappler’s criticism falls within the concept of freedom of expression in a democratic society.”
Maria Ressa became known worldwide as an example of the use of judicial harassment as a tool to intimidate and silence journalists.
He fell out of favor with the government for criticizing then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent anti-drug policy.
He later became the target of many cyber defamation lawsuits and tax lawsuits.
Some were opened by the government, others by people linked to the former president who left command of the government two weeks ago. The country’s new president is Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the dictator who rules the country with an iron fist. Between 1965 and 1986.
The lawsuit, which was dismissed, was filed by the Philippine government in response to a complaint by businessman Wilfredo Keng about an investigative report published by Rappler in 2012. The site had already condemned the use of one of Keng’s cars by a member of the Judgment. deceased.
It worked before the current cybercrime law went into effect. But the correction of a typo two years later was deemed a separate offense by the court, according to Rappler, which served as an argument for conviction under the new law.
In the speech he gave while receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, he talked about the functioning and use of retroactive law.
Lawyers questioned the constitutionality of the initial decision and the sentence in response to the appeal:
“The appeal is denied.
46. Manila District Court decision considering defendants Reynaldo Santos Jr. and Maria Ressa are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of violating Article 4(c)4 of the Republic Act 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012, amended to the extent that the defendants were sentenced to indefinite prison terms. varies from at least six months and one day to a maximum of six years, eight months and twenty days.”
Court of Appeal judges imposed a longer prison sentence of at least six months and one day to a maximum of six years than the Manila court’s decision in June 2020.
Now, Ressa and Rey can receive an additional eight months and 20 days in addition to paying a fine equivalent to R$37,000 for non-pecuniary damage.
A second cyber defamation charge filed by Keng was dismissed in 2021 after he told the court he didn’t want to “worry” about the case anymore but shifted his focus to the pandemic.
Also Read | Businessman drops lawsuit against Filipino journalist Maria Ressa
Cyber defamation, tool of persecution
According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 10 cyber-libelous complaints were filed against Maria Ressa and Rappler, and the organization revealed that “highly problematic law was used as a tool to harass and silence independent media.”
“This decision is bitterly disappointing and sends a disturbing signal about the direction of justice under Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s new administration,” said the Hold the Line Coalition committee, a group formed to condemn abuses of the Filipino journalist.
We demand the immediate decriminalization of the defamation law in the Philippines, and in particular the ridiculous and retrospectively applied cyber defamation law that convicted Maria Ressa and her former colleague.”
The Philippine Court of Appeals decision comes days after the Rappler website was ordered to be shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating the country’s media ownership law.
The Coalition’s Steering Committee said: “These decisions represent a serious escalation in the continued harassment and persecution of Ressa and Rappler and should be vigorously opposed.” Said.
“Press freedom is under severe attack in the Philippines and this criminal cyber defamation case is symbolic of the country’s democratic decline.”
Ressa and Rappler continue to tackle seven cases being investigated by Philippine authorities. If Ressa is found guilty of all charges, he will face a total prison sentence of up to 100 years.
The HTL Coalition urges States, intergovernmental organizations and international civil society groups to step up the fight to keep Ressa free.
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source: Noticias
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