Trial opens for Philippine journalist and Duterte critic Maria Ressa

High-profile Philippine journalist Maria Ressa is out on bail and faces years in prison if convicted. PHOTO: AFP

MANILA (AFP) - High-profile Philippine journalist Maria Ressa's libel trial opened Tuesday (July 23) in a case that press freedom advocates see as government retaliation for her news site's critical reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte.

Ms Ressa, who leads online outlet Rappler and was named a Time Magazine "Person of the Year" in 2018 for her journalism, is out on bail and faces years in prison if convicted under the criminal cyber-libel law.

The news portal has written extensively and often critically on Duterte's policies, including his deadly drugs war that rights groups say may be a crime against humanity.

Besides the libel case, Ms Ressa and Rappler have been hit with 10 other criminal charges over the past year, prompting allegations that authorities are targeting her and her team for their work.

"The government hopes to intimidate us by syphoning both my personal time, our resources," Ms Ressa, who was not in court, told AFP.

"I won't be intimidated. We continue to do our jobs. The mission of journalism has never been as important as it is today in the Philippines," she added.

Tuesday's brief hearing ended after testimony from one minor witness, with the case set to resume on July 30.

The case centres on a Rappler report from 2012 about a businessman's alleged ties to a then-judge of the nation's top court.

Government investigators initially dismissed the businessman's 2017 complaint about the article, but state prosecutors later decided to file charges.

The legal foundation of the case is a controversial "cybercrime law" aimed at online offences ranging from stalking to child pornography.

Ms Ressa, 55, argues the law did not take effect until months after the story was published.

Government lawyers say it is effectively a new article since Rappler had updated it in 2014 to fix a typographical error.

While the plaintiff is a private citizen, like all criminal cases in the Philippines the suit is prosecuted by government lawyers.

Ms Ressa and Rappler also face tax and corporate fraud cases.

The libel case has drawn international attention, with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright expressing concern over democratic rights.

Prominent rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who joined Ms Ressa's legal team this month, said the case echoed a recurring theme in her work, where "journalists who expose abuses face arrest while those who commit the abuses do so with impunity".

Mr Duterte, who denies being behind the case, has singled out Rappler for criticism, also banning it from covering his public events and forbidding government officials from talking to Rappler reporters.

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