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TEHRAN, Feb 13 - The award-winning head of a Philippine news website known for its tough scrutiny of President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on Wednesday on libel charges, the latest in a series of legal cases against perceived adversaries of the government.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC)-Maria Ressa, chief executive of Rappler, is accused of 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.
National Bureau of Investigation officers escorted Ressa through a phalanx of media that poured into the Manila office of Rappler when news of the agents’ arrival went viral on social media.
“People should know that the line has been crossed,” Ressa told reporters, adding she would seek bail.
The justice ministry filed the case on behalf of the businessman, who denies any wrongdoing.
Ressa was among several people named “Person of the Year” by Time Magazine in 2018 for leading what it said was Rappler’s “fearless reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s propaganda machine and extrajudicial killings”, referring to his bloody war on drugs.
Source:Reuters
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