Maria Ressa, chief executive of Rappler, was charged with cyber libel over a 2012 article, updated in 2014, that linked a businessman to murder and trafficking of humans and drugs, citing information contained in an intelligence report from an unspecified agency. After handing down the verdict, Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa said freedom of the press could not be used as a "shield". The cyber libel is among the numerous lawsuits filed against Ressa and Rappler that have drawn global concern about a free and open media in the Southeast Asian country. Rappler's operating license was rescinded in 2018 over alleged foreign ownership violations, and it is also dealing with a case involving alleged tax evasion. Media watchdogs have said the charges against Ressa were trumped up and aimed at intimidating those who challenge Duterte's rule, in particular, his deadly crackdown on illicit drugs.

Source: bd News24 June 15, 2020 01:30 UTC