PHILIPPINES: RSF and two other leading press freedom organisations submit amicus brief in Maria Ressa case

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), along with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), has introduced an expert legal opinion arguing the Supreme Court of the Philippines should close the cyberlibel case against Rappler founder and CEO Maria Ressa.

In an effort to deter the legal persecution of trailblazing journalist and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa and her former colleague Reynaldo Santos, and to protect the public’s right to be informed, three leading civil society organisations have submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The brief was filed on 13 June by RSF, CPJ, and ICFJ in partnership with Debevoise and Plimpton LLP. It argues that the criminal convictions of Ressa and Santos for “cyber libel” not only breach the international obligations of the Philippines but betray a press freedom legacy the court has reaffirmed for more than a century. READ MORE from Reporters Without Borders