Maria Ressa on RFI: "My trial will be a test for press freedom" in the Philippines

Text by: RFI Follow

The verdict of the journalist Maria Ressa's trial will be released on Monday, June 15 in the Philippines. Accused of "cyber-defamation", the founder of the independent newspaper Rappler, known for articles very critical of President Rodrigo Duterte, faces ten years in prison.

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"  My trial will be a test for press freedom and it will have an impact on the Filipinos,  " journalist Maria Ressa told RFI on the eve of the verdict of her trial, which will be rendered on June 15. His defamation trial follows a complaint filed in 2012 by a businessman, after an article by Rappler on his alleged links with a magistrate of the Supreme Court of the archipelago.

Authorities say they did not target the journalist for her work and simply enforced the law. For their part, press freedom organizations claim that the journalist is being retaliated against by President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration, because of the very independent manner in which she works.

"  It's a general attack on press freedom  "

In particular, the investigations into the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte, which has made thousands of deaths in recent years, including many extrajudicial executions, which have earned him many threats. The latter began in 2016, online, against her and her newspaper, then "  a year later, the same attacks came from the mouth of President Duterte, during his second speech to the nation,  " explains she.

For Maria Ressa, her lawsuit is the last step in a long series of attacks on her newspaper that have only one goal: " Tap you until you shut up."  "  It is a general attack on press freedom : news groups in general are targeted, and they are told to keep quiet,  " denounces the one who was voted personality of the year in 2018 by the magazine Time .

In recent weeks, several human rights organizations have expressed concern over the way the government has stepped up its policy of silencing critics. “  Everyone is trying to do their job as a journalist, but it's different if your media belongs to a company that has other financial interests. The country's largest television group was closed on May 5. It's unprecedented… ”, she regrets.

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• Philippines
• Rodrigo Duterte
• Journalism

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