A judge acquitted Filipino Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa on four counts of tax evasion.

(Reuters)

(CNA) A judge acquitted Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa and her news site Rappler on four counts of tax evasion, leaving Ressa in a case she described as part of a harassment pattern. Win one.

Renesas shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Russia's Novaya Gazeta; she is also the head of Rappler, a news site known for its in-depth coverage and harsh criticism of former presidents Rodrigo Duterte is known for his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs.

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According to reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse, Reisa said today after the verdict was released, "This acquittal is not only for Rappler, but also for every Filipino who has been unfairly accused." She described this as justice and truth. victory.

"The allegations ... are politically motivated ... and are a shameless abuse of power," she said.

Although Renesas was acquitted of tax evasion charges, he still has three other criminal lawsuits, including an appeal of a 2020 Internet defamation conviction and a six-year sentence.

Media advocates attribute the lawsuit to Reesa for her courage in criticizing former President Duterte for waging a war on drugs that claimed thousands of lives.

The Duterte administration has said in the past that they have nothing to do with many of the Renesas cases.

Current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in September last year that he would not intervene in the Renesas case, citing the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches.

The 2022 World Press Freedom Index ranks the Philippines 147 out of 180 countries, while the Committee to Protect Journalists' 2021 "impunity index" ranks the Philippines Ranked seventh in the world, the index tracks how countries in which media workers are killed go unpunished and go unsanctioned.