The Hold The Line Coalition welcomes the Philippine Supreme Court’s final decision to close a lawsuit against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa and her newspaper Rappler. The decision formally ends the Securities and Exchange Commission’s nearly decade-long efforts to shut down the independent news outlet with frivolous, politically motivated allegations of foreign ownership. The decision, issued in late January and conveyed to Rappler in late March,  followed the Solicitor General’s withdrawal of its further challenge to earlier Appeal Court rulings in Rappler’s favor.

“The closure of this case is a light at the end of a long tunnel of repression, public attacks and distress caused to Maria Ressa and the staff of the news outlet she founded, Rappler. The Hold the Line Coalition welcomes this decision and urges the Philippine justice system to put an end to this censorship and harassment campaign, by overturning Maria Ressa’s conviction in the last case still pending against her.”  — Hold The Line Coalition Steering Committee

Since 2017, Rappler, Ressa, and her colleagues have been subjected to a sustained campaign of legal persecution and online attacks. A total of 23 legal cases have been filed against them. Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos still face up to six years and nine months in prison from a 2020 criminal cyber libel conviction, which remains under final appeal before the Philippine Supreme Court. Maria Ressa also still faces separate criminal proceedings for alleged tax violations, linked to charges of “foreign ownership” which have now been debunked by the courts.

Bringing together over 80 organisations worldwide, the Hold the Line Coalition urges states, international bodies, and civil society to defend press freedom in the Philippines and call on President Marcos to renew the country’s commitment to a free press.

Contact #HTL Steering Committee Members for further details: Aleksandra Bielakowska (abielakowska@rsf.org); Julie Posetti (jposetti@thenerve.co); and Gypsy Guillén Kaiser (gguillenkaiser@cpj.org).