MANILA: Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and her news site Rapper were acquitted of tax evasion charges on Wednesday, a judge said, handing Ressa the victory in a case the veteran journalist has described as part of a pattern of harassment. .
Russa, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 along with a Russian journalist, heads the RAPAR, which earned a reputation for its in-depth reporting and tough investigation of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his deadly war on drugs.
Following the verdict, Rasa referred to the acquittal as a victory for justice and truth, adding that it was not just for the rapper, but for every Filipino who was ever falsely accused. "These allegations were political in nature. Gross abuse of authority he declared.
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The state revenue agency alleged that Rappler had omitted the proceeds of a 2015 sale of depository receipts to foreign investors from his tax return, which later served as the securities regulator's basis for revoking Rappler's license. Was. These allegations gave rise to the tax evasion case. The Ministry of Justice of the Philippines announced that it respected the court's decision.
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Ressa, 59, is currently out on bail while she files an appeal against her 2020 sentence of six years for defamation. In the Philippines, one of the most dangerous countries in Asia for journalists, she is defending herself against multiple government lawsuits that have raised international concern about media harassment there.
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The Committee to Protect Journalists ranked the Philippines seventh in the world in its 2021 Impunity Index, which tracks the deaths of media members whose killers go free. The Philippines was ranked 147th out of 180 countries in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index.