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Philippines arrests journalist Maria Ressa on fraud charge
The veteran reporter, named a Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2018 for her work, was taken into custody by authorities at Manila airport, said Beth Frondoso, a co-founder of Ressa's website Rappler.
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Maria Ressa, CEO and executive editor of online portal Rappler shows the warrant of arrest order after posting bail at a court in Manila on December 3, 2018. The journalist who leads a news site that has battled Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte paid a cash bail on December 3 on a tax fraud charge she says is an effort to intimidate the publication.
Ted ALJIBE / AFP (AFP/Ted Aljibe)
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hilippine journalist Maria Ressa was arrested Friday on a fraud charge, her second detention in what press freedom advocates have said is retaliation for her news site's criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The veteran reporter, named a Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2018 for her work, was taken into custody by authorities at Manila airport, said Beth Frondoso, a co-founder of Ressa's website Rappler.
"They got her at the airport," Frondoso told AFP. "We will be filing bail."
Philippine authorities arrested Ressa in February on an internet libel charge, which sparked international condemnation and allegations that she was being targeted for Rappler's critical stance on Duterte.
"This case against Ressa... is unprecedented and speaks volumes of the Duterte administration's determination to shut the website down for its credible and consistent reporting on the government," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch.
