Rights groups score Maria Ressa, ex-Rappler researcher conviction, calling it an assault to media freedom in Philippines

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday slammed the conviction of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. for cyber libel, saying it is "a devastating blow to media freedom in the Philippines."

“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 at Human Rights Watch in a statement following the issuance of the decision.

“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," he added.

HRW noted that the cases filed against Rappler only show the Duterte administration's determination to intimidate and shut down the online news site.

The campaign against Rappler, it added, appears to be in retaliation for the news outlet's reporting on the government's "war on drugs."

“The government should reverse this alarming affront to justice and quash the convictions of Rappler’s Ressa and Santos,” Robertson said.

“The prosecution was not just an attack on these individual journalists but also a frontal assault on freedom of the press that is critical to protect and preserve Philippines democracy," he added.

Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific regional director Nicholas Bequelin expressed the same sentiment saying the verdict was “a sham and should be quashed.”

“Ressa, Santos, and the Rappler team are being singled out for their critical reporting of the Duterte administration, including ongoing human rights violations in the Philippines. The accusations against them are political, the prosecution was politically-motivated, and the sentence is nothing but political,” he said in a press statement.

He said with this latest assault on independent media, the human rights record of the Philippines continues its free fall.

He said it is time for the United Nations to urgently open an international investigation into the country’s human rights crisis, in line with the recent conclusions of the UN Human Rights office itself.

“Ressa and her team have become global icons for press freedom after President Duterte himself has repeatedly singled them out for attack, intimidation and harassment. They face a long battle ahead, with several more politically motivated charges awaiting trial,” said Bequelin.

“This guilty verdict follows the shutdown of ABS-CBN, which remains off the air – also after coming under the President’s attacks. The international community cannot remain silent in the face of this brazen vendetta against the press,” he added.

In a separate statement, local human rights group Karapatan also condemned the guilty verdict issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court, saying it "has dire implications on the state of press freedom and the people’s right to information and freedom of expression in the Philippines."

"It sends the dangerous message that journalists who expose misdeeds of those in power are more vulnerable to retaliation to silence them. It also sends an even more dangerous message to the public that anyone and everyone can be criminalized on their views and opinions," the group said.

"With the conviction of Ressa and Santos, the shutdown of ABS-CBN, the killings and threats against journalists, the numerous violations faced by Filipinos on a daily basis and the passage of the terror bill, a full-blown dictatorship is made more palpable," it added.

The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 found Ressa and Santos guilty of cyber libel and sentenced them to six months and one day to up to six years in jail.

The court likewise ordered Ressa and Santos "jointly and severally" to pay businessman Wilfredo Keng, the private complainant, P200,000 in moral damages and P200,000 in exemplary damages.

The case stemmed from an article published by Rappler in 2012 that cites an "intelligence report" linking Keng, a businessman and the private complainant, to human trafficking and drug smuggling.

The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 had not been enacted at the time the story was published, but prosecutors alleged that a supposedly "republished" version of the story in February 2014 is covered by the law.

In January 2019, investigating prosecutors from the Department of Justice recommended the filing of a cyber libel case against Ressa, Santos, and Rappler Inc., saying the story  is "clearly defamatory" as it "imputes to complainant Keng the commission of crimes."—AOL, GMA News