Manila - Philippines’ Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa lost her appeal against a conviction for cyber libel, her news website Rappler said Friday, in the latest blow for the veteran journalist. Ressa and her former colleague Rey Santos Jr face lengthy jail sentences, but the company said they will “avail of all legal remedies available to them”, including taking the case to the Supreme Court.
The ruling comes less than two weeks after Philippine authorities ordered Rappler to shut down ahead of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s last day in office. Rappler on Friday described the decision to uphold the conviction as “unfortunate”, saying it “weakens the ability of journalists to hold power to account”.