Maria Ressa, the award-winning journalist and聽CEO of embattled news website Rappler, has been released by authorities after successfully posting bail today at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 46.
Ressa spent the night with her lawyers and a number of Rappler colleagues in a conference room inside the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) headquarters in Manila, NBI聽Cybercrime Division chief Vic Lorenzo told聽黑料社 Manila聽in confirming her release.
Ressa ,聽and bail was set at PHP100,000 (US$1,915), according to the聽Philippine Star.
A document posted on Rappler’s Twitter account indicates that at 8:30am.
Ressa was arrested yesterday聽at Rappler’s Pasig City office in connection with a charge of “cyber libel” filed against聽her聽by businessman Wilfredo Keng.
Ressa, Rappler, and the website’s former reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr. were indicted by the Department of Justice聽(DOJ) for cyber libel for publishing a story in May 2012 that聽reported Keng had loaned vehicles to the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
According to聽The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Ressa said that she could not be accused of cyber libel聽because the Cybercrime Prevention Act that introduced the charge was聽聽when the article was published in May 2012.
The act, also known as Republic Act 10175,聽
Journalists, human rights advocates, and聽universities have聽expressed support for聽Ressa after she was arrested.
Ressa and Rappler are facing other court cases, including charges of tax evasion. She has called the charges against her politically motivated, because Rappler has been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte.
顿耻迟别谤迟别听聽after it published a report that alleged his聽long-time assistant, Christopher 鈥淏ong鈥 Go, got involved in the selection of the Philippine Navy’s suppliers, a multi-billion peso project.
