Manila (AFP)

Filipino journalist Maria Ressa was convicted on Monday of a Manila court in a defamation case presented by her supporters as an attempt to muzzle the critics of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Maria Ressa, 56, is the co-founder of the online news site Rappler, who has been the subject of several legal proceedings after publishing critical articles against the policy of the head of state, including his bloody and controversial campaign against the drug traffic.

The former CNN journalist faces up to six years in prison. It is unclear how long she will have to serve if the sentence becomes final. The journalist was left free pending consideration of her appeal.

"We will resist all attacks on press freedom," told reporters after her conviction Ms. Ressa, who had been named by Time as one of the personalities of the year 2018.

"It is a setback but it is not unexpected either," she added. "They are trying to scare us, but don't be afraid. Because if you don't exercise your rights, you will lose them."

The trial was based on an article written in 2012 on the alleged links between a businessman and the then president of the Supreme Court of the archipelago.

- "You will be next" -

The businessman's complaint was initially dismissed in 2017, but the file was then forwarded to the prosecution, which decided to prosecute her and former journalist Reynaldo Santos who wrote the article.

The latter was also found guilty on Monday and remained free on bail.

But the prosecution had argued that the correction of a typographical shell in 2014 - Rappler had replaced the word "evation" with "evasion" - meant that the article now fell under the law.

"I was warned: + shut up or you will be next ... + this is partly why I was targeted," Ms. Ressa, who is also an old woman, told AFP last week. journalist for the American channel CNN.

Duterte's government has dismissed accusations that the case was political, saying the authorities are monitoring the law, including against journalists.

- Bullying -

But human rights organizations and associations fighting for press freedom claim that this defamation case, the tax proceedings against Rappler and the government's efforts to withdraw its accreditation to the site are harassment.

Amnesty International said the "attacks" on Rappler were part of a campaign against press freedom in the Philippines.

The verdict comes a month after the cessation of broadcasting of ABS-CBN, the main Filipino media group, after the government had unexpectedly issued a decree ordering their closure due to the difficulties of the discussions relating to the renewal of his license.

It had been years since Mr. Duterte had threatened to shut down ABS-CBN, a group which, like Rappler, had widely covered the president's "drug war", which encouraged police to kill drug traffickers and suspected drug addicts.

According to the Philippine Drug Control Agency, police have killed at least 5,600 people suspected of drug trafficking during official operations. According to organizations, the real balance sheet is at least three times higher.

Another very critical figure against this war against drug trafficking is Senator Leila de Lima, who has been in detention for three years for drug trafficking.

The independence of the judiciary, long tainted with corruption, has been particularly undermined since Mr. Dutertre came to power in 2016, according to rights organizations.

© 2020 AFP