MANILA: A Philippine news website co-founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa can continue operating after a court overturned a shutdown order, according to a ruling released Friday, in the media department’s latest legal victory.
Ressa and Rappler led several court cases filed during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Ressa, who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, has been a vocal critic of Duterte and the deadly drug war he launched in 2016.
The appeals court’s ruling, issued on July 23 but not released to the media until Friday, overturned a previous ruling by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that ordered the shutdown of Rappler.
The SEC’s order was a “grave abuse of discretion” and was contrary to “established procedures, legal and legal guidelines and the clear intent of the Constitution,” the court said.
Rappler continued to operate as it appealed the SEC order.
The case arose out of a 2015 investment by the US-based Omidyar Network, founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Human Rights Watch researcher Carlos Conde said that after the SEC decision was overturned, “justice and common sense prevailed.”
Last year, the Justice Department dropped charges that Ressa illegally placed Rappler under foreign control.
Ressa was also acquitted of five government tax evasion charges.
Ressa and a former colleague are still appealing their cyber-insult convictions, which carry nearly seven years in prison. She also faces the prospect of a maximum 15-year prison sentence if convicted in a separate case related to the Omidyar investment.
