MANILA, Philippines – Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who heads the international legal team representing Nobel laureate and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, said in a statement on Wednesday, January 18, that “freedom was upheld” by the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) in its decision to acquit Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC) on four counts of tax evasion.

“The charges were political –a straightforward attempt to silence journalists. But today we see justice being done. We see judges drawing a line. We see freedom being upheld,” Clooney said.

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Philippine court acquits Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, Rappler of tax evasion

The international lawyer, who began representing Ressa in 2019, said the legal cases filed against the veteran journalist and Rappler were filed “in an attempt to silence a journalist.”

“For four years my client has had a 30-year sentence hanging over her head while the Philippine courts considered the spurious charges filed against her,” Clooney said.

Clooney expressed hope the verdict would “be the beginning of a new chapter in the Philippines in which journalists are safe, speech is free, democracy is secured and the rule of law can prevail.”

The CTA 1st Division decided to acquit Ressa and RHC, Rappler’s holding company, on the Duterte government’s charge that it evaded tax payments when it raised capital through its partnership with foreign investors North Base Media and Omidyar Network. This involved the issuance to the two entities of Philippine Depositary Receipts or PDRs.

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“Today marks a vital legal victory for Maria Ressa, our indefatigable client, and for Rappler. These were baseless charges; blatant politically motivated simply to criminalize Ms Ressa for years of hard-hitting investigative reporting holding the powerful to account,” Cailfhionn Gallagher KC, Clooney’s co-counsel at London-based Doughty Street Chambers, said in a statement.

She said, however, that “now, the question whether this is a one-off, rare victory for justice and press freedom in the Philippines, or a sign of wider change to come. The world is watching.”

Rights organizations earlier called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to “hit reset” on the media repression campaign started by his predecessor ex-President Rodrigo Duterte. (READ: Press freedom advocates: Rappler tax case victory ‘a win for journalists’)

The junking of the four tax cases at the CTA leaves three active court cases against Rappler and Ressa: the appeal of Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. in their conviction for cyber libel pending at the Supreme Court, another lone tax case at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court, and an appeal on the closure of Rappler pending at the Court of Appeals.

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– Rappler.com