Freedom of the press in the Philippines: death by a thousand cuts

Maria Ressa described the actions on Monday as a "death by a thousand cuts". The critical of the government Philippine journalist had been previously by a court of Manila convicted of defamation. The case itself had Duterte nothing to do with the President Rodrigo and to do his from your criticized the bloody "war against drugs". Nevertheless, she sees the ruling as politically motivated. She accuses the President that he wanted to bring his critics to Silence. Multiple Ressa has been in the past few months been arrested. New proceedings have been opened against them; the count, there are now eleven. In the social media, you will be attacked by Dutertes supporters with insults. The Online news portal Rappler, which she had co-founded in 2012 and whose Boss she is, had already been in the year 2018, the license will be cancelled.

Till Fähnders

Political correspondent for Southeast Asia.

this is All according to her, the punishment that she had dared to criticize the 75-year-old President. Rappler had reported mainly on Dutertes Anti-drug-war, in the meanwhile, thousands of alleged drug criminals have been shot by the police, and the use of social media against his critics. Ressa and other journalists convicted in prison now sentences of six months to seven years. It is likely that they will remain on bail and the judgment in the next instance may be challenged. Human rights activists see the verdict in a series of attacks on the critical press by the President, the act is always authoritarian. In this year of the TV station ABS had lost-CBN its broadcasting license.

a conviction because of an article from the year 2012

The judgment referred to an article from the year 2012, which was published on Rappler. In it a businessman was accused of, he had Connections to a judge of the Supreme court and was involved in illegal activities such as people smuggling and drug trafficking. The businessman Wilfredo Keng had, however, filed until five years after the first publication of the article, the lawsuit against the allegations. In addition to Ressa, Journalist Reynaldo Santos was also convicted, had written the article. The indictment is based on a law against cyber crime and defamation on the Internet from the year 2012. Ressa warned, the law will have an impact on the freedom of expression and the use of online services.

The law had only been passed after the article was published. However, the prosecution referred to a re-publication of the article in the year 2014. In the other allegations against Ressa and the Rappler it comes to American investors. A law prohibits foreigners Philippi have niche media. Maria Ressa, the CNN worked for many years for the station to operate, is one of the most famous journalists in the country. She was born in the Philippines, with their parents, but in the United States, when the dictator Ferdinand Marcos had imposed a state of emergency across the country. In America, she studied at Princeton University before she returned to the Philippines. In the year 2018, the magazine "Time" they rose due to their commitment to press freedom and democracy to a Person of the year.