Her detention on a charge of "cyber libel" is a dramatic escalation in the legal pressure bearing down on Ressa and her website Rappler, which was already facing tax evasion charges that could shut it down. "The arrest of... Ressa on the clearly manipulated charge of cyber libel is a shameless act of persecution by a bully government," said the National Union of Journalists' of the Philippines. "The government... now proves it will go to ridiculous lengths to forcibly silence critical media," it added. Duterte has lashed out at other critical media outfits, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper and broadcaster ABS-CBN. He had threatened to go after their owners over alleged unpaid taxes or block the network's franchise renewal application.

Source: Bangkok Post February 13, 2019 12:46 UTC