MANILA, Philippines — Rappler will study the security issues of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents involved in the arrest of the news agency’s chief executive Maria Ressa on Wednesday. Ressa’s lawyer JJ Disini said they will evaluate if the restriction imposed by the NBI agents on reporters recording Ressa’s arrest may have implications on press freedom as it is a matter of public interest. The arrest of Maria Ressa [at the] Rappler office is a matter of public interest, it is newsworthy,” Disini told reporters on Thursday at the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46. “And to the extent that the NBI was somehow restricting that may implicate freedom of expression or freedom of the press issues,” he added. Ressa said she was shocked by her sudden arrest but claimed that NBI officers treated her professionally during the serving of the warrant.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 14, 2019 12:00 UTC