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As rapper faces yet another legal battle, foreign journalists express support for the media organization and urge others to defend press freedom
MANILA, Philippines – Foreign Journalists, Scholars, and Other Non-Governmental Organizations for their support for President Rodrigo Duterte.
On Twitter, they slammed the recent decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to indict Rapper Holdings Corporation (RHC) for tax evasion, an allegation that the company maintains is baseless.
David Kaye, United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, called the move to "travesty."
this is an absolute travesty, an effort by Duterte to shut down one of the most innovative press outlets in the #Philippines and one of the great journalistic entrepreneurs around, @mariaressa https://t.co/MZhXWElfFu
– David Kaye (@davidakaye) November 10, 2018
Editors of several foreign media organizations and journalism professors, including Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron and Huffington Post editor-in-chief Lydia Polgreen, commented on attempts to silence the press.
They also noted that the situation reflects a global phenomenon.
Nobody questions President Duterte the way my friend and colleague @mariaressa does. Nobody challenges the Philippines with much courage. Nobody deserves support more than she and her team at @rapplerdotcom https://t.co/2nnnUPjB4w
– Peter Greste (@PeterGreste) November 10, 2018
Attacks against the press are growing by the minute. @mariaressa and @rapplerdotcom have done an outstanding job of speaking truth to power in the Philippines. Now the govt is trying to silence them. https://t.co/gU7zrSbzRG
– Atika Shubert (@atikaCNN) November 10, 2018
This is an outrage. @mariaressa is a journalist of the highest integrity. https://t.co/RuK1w61m0d
– Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen) November 10, 2018
An attack on one of the world's bravest journalists. https://t.co/Jy0L2rFHvq
– Marty Baron (@PostBaron) November 10, 2018
Every journalist needs to share this. @mariaressa has been a beacon of energetic reporting in Duterte's dark world https://t.co/0x5VjUvTkR
– Emily Bell (@emilybell) November 10, 2018
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism to intimidate independent journals and silence in the country.
#SupportRappler – Curated tweets by rapplerdotcom
The indictment on Friday, November 9, is the latest in a string of cases filed against Rapper since January 2017. (READ: FAQs: Rappler's SEC box)
The media organization, however, maintains "this is a clear form of continuing intimidation and harassment" and "an attempt to silence reporting that does not please the administration." (Read Rappler's full statement here.) – Rappler.com
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