'Duterte Jeogyeoksu' Filipino Journalist Sentenced to Prison for Cyber Defamation Charges

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The head of a local media outlet in the Philippines, who had taken a critical stance against the government and clashed with President Rodrigo Duterte, was sentenced to up to six years in prison on defamation charges against another person, AP News reported on the 16th.

According to the report, the Manila Regional Trial Court found Maria Ressa, head of the local online media 'Rappler,' and former journalist Reynaldo Santos Jr. guilty of cyber defamation against a local businessman. The court ruled that Rappler's May 2012 report on allegations involving the businessman in murder and drug trafficking constituted defamation.

However, Rappler argued that the statute of limitations for defamation is one year, and the plaintiff filed the lawsuit only in 2017, five years after the media report, so they should not be subject to punishment. They also denied any malice, stating the article was based on related information reports. Domestic and international media and human rights organizations strongly criticized the government, accusing it of suppressing the press.

In response, the Philippine Department of Justice claimed that under the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act, charges can be filed up to 12 years later. They insisted that the lawsuit against Ressa and Rappler is not press suppression but a normal judicial process for alleged legal violations.

Ressa and others appealed while out on bail, awaiting a higher court's judgment. They were granted bail by the court. Ressa criticized the ruling as "a blow to press freedom and democracy" and urged local journalists and citizens to continue the fight for press freedom.

Rappler had clashed with the government by raising issues such as so-called 'extrajudicial killings' during the war on drugs initiated by President Duterte shortly after his inauguration in July 2016, where suspects were killed without trial. Ressa was named Time magazine's 'Person of the Year 2018' and was also awarded the 'Golden Pen of Freedom' by the World Association of Newspapers at its 70th congress.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.