Accused of tax evasion, Filipino Nobel Peace Prize winner acquitted

Maria Ressa and her online news site Rappler were acquitted of tax evasion on Wednesday. But other cases are in progress.

Source AFP

>, declared Maria Ressa, in a defiant tone to the press, after the decision handed down by the Manila Court of Appeal. “title=”< Aujourd'hui, les faits l'emportent. La verite l'emporte >>, declared Maria Ressa, in a defiant tone to the press, after the decision handed down by the Manila Court of Appeal. “/>

“Today, the facts prevail. Truth prevails,” Maria Ressa told reporters defiantly after the Manila Court of Appeal’s ruling.
© JAM STA ROSA / AFP

Published on 01/18/2023 at 03:37
– Modified 18/01/2023 at 07:10

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« Ltruth prevails. Maria Ressa, Filipino Nobel Peace Prize laureate, seemed delighted on Wednesday January 18 after learning of her acquittal in the tax evasion case that targeted her and her online news site Rappler. But the journalist, co-winner of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, faces three other criminal cases, including a conviction for cybercrime, currently on appeal, for which she faces nearly seven years in prison. .

The 59-year-old veteran journalist, who also has US citizenship, was one of the most vocal critics of former President Rodrigo Duterte, in power from 2016 to 2022, and his violent methods in the war on drugs, which has caused thousands of deaths.

“Today, the facts prevail. Truth prevails,” Maria Ressa told reporters defiantly after the Manila Court of Appeal’s ruling.

READ ALSOA monster tax adjustment for the richest Frenchman in SwitzerlandThe former CNN reporter and the Rappler site, which she co-founded, were accused of providing misinformation in a tax return following a bond sale to foreign investors in 2015.

“These accusations were politically motivated,” said Maria Ressa on Wednesday. “We were able to prove that Rappler is not a tax evader. »

The journalist has been fighting for years to avoid prison. The lawsuits against her are emblematic of the harassment of the independent press in the country, according to human rights organisations.

” Hope “

Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov were rewarded in October 2021 by the Nobel committee for their fight for the “safeguard of freedom of expression”.

Asked Wednesday about the meaning of the decision rendered by the Court of Appeal, Maria Ressa replied: “Hope. That’s what she provides. Despite this judgment, the future of Rappler, which was born a decade ago, remains uncertain.

He is still fighting a legal battle against an order from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission. In June, a few days before the end of the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the latter had ordered the closure of the site for having violated “the constitutional and legal restrictions on foreign ownership in the media”.

The news outlet, which continues to operate, is accused of allowing outsiders to take over its website by issuing “certificates of deposit” through its parent company Rappler Holdings.

READ ALSOTax dumping: Poland and Hungary resistAccording to the Constitution, media investments are restricted to Filipinos or Filipino-controlled entities. The accusation is based on an investment in Rappler in 2015 from an American company, Omidyar Network, created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.

In September, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said he would not interfere in Maria Ressa’s affairs, citing the separation of powers. In October, a few months after coming to power, Maria Ressa was convicted of online defamation.