Hi there,

If you think Democracy Now!’s reporting is a critical line of defense against war, climate catastrophe and authoritarianism, please make your donation of $10 or more right now. Today, a generous donor will DOUBLE your donation, which means it’ll go 2x as far to support our independent journalism. Democracy Now! is funded by you, and that’s why we’re counting on your donation to keep us going strong. Please give today. Every dollar makes a difference—in fact, gets doubled! Thank you so much.
-Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Filipino Journalist and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa Acquitted of Tax Evasion Charges

HeadlineJan 18, 2023

In the Philippines, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist Maria Ressa has been acquitted of tax evasion charges in what was widely seen as a politically motivated case. Ressa is the founder of the independent news outlet Rappler and was a vocal critic of former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, whose government filed the charges. Ressa spoke earlier today.

Maria Ressa: “These charges, as you know, were politically motivated. They were incredible to us, a brazen abuse of power, and meant to stop journalists from doing their jobs. … Today, facts win. Truth wins. Justice wins.”

Despite today’s acquittal, Maria Ressa’s legal problems are not over. She is currently on bail as she appeals a six-year prison sentence handed down in 2020 for a libel conviction. Click here to see our interviews with Maria Ressa.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top