Speaking on the issue, IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said, “The Philippines’ decision to shut down Rappler is a flagrant attempt to silence a critical media outlet and a serious violation of press freedom, which has rapidly eroded under the Duterte administration.” At one point, Ressa faced up to 100 years in prison cumulatively in various cases. Ressa has also been slapped with a series of civil and criminal cases, including charges of tax evasion, three cyber libel cases and violations of foreign ownership rules. The harassment and intimidation campaign took the form of online attacks, arrests and legal charges. Over the years, Rappler and Ressa have faced harassment at hands of Philippine authorities under President Duterte. To begin with, the Philippine SEC first revoked Rappler’s operating license in January 2018, but then it denied foreign ownership - which is prohibited for mass media companies in the Philippines - and continued to operate. Its critical coverage of Duterte’s bloody war on drugs and his abuses of power has made the news organisation and its founder Ressa the targets of the president. Incidentally, the decision by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke Rappler’s certificates of incorporation on June 28 for violating foreign ownership rules comes just two days before Duterte’s presidency came to an end. “The IPI global network expressed outrage after Philippine authorities ordered the shutdown of Rappler, the pioneering news organisation founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner and IPI executive board member Maria Ressa,” IPI said in a statement. New Delhi: The International Press Institute (IPI) has condemned the decision by the Philippine authorities to shut down Rappler, Maria Ressa’s news organisation that has been targeted for its critical coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte’s abuse of power.
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