Maria Ressa’s new cyber libel charge is all because of a Twitter screenshot

ICYMI, just five months after her first libel case, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa is once again being charged for cyber libel. The ‘smoking gun‘? A 2019 screenshot of an article dated 2002.

In the thick of her cyber libel case against businessmen Wilfredo Keng back in February 2019, Ressa posted screenshots of a now-deleted Philippine Star article linking Keng to the death of Manila councilor Chika Go.

‘Here’s the 2002 article on the ‘private businessman’ who filed the cyber libel case, which was thrown out by the NBI then revived by the DOJ. #HoldTheLine,’ Ressa captioned. The tweet in question is still up as of writing.

Here’s the 2002 article on the “private businessman” who filed the cyberlibel case, which was thrown out by the NBI then revived by the DOJ. #HoldTheLine pic.twitter.com/sDdc8Hz7IZ

— Maria Ressa (@mariaressa) February 16, 2019

On November 23, Makati City prosecutors charged Ressa with violating Section 4 (c) 4 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, as PhilStar had deleted the article amidst the developing law.

Human Rights lawyer Amal Clooney branded the charge as ‘absurd‘ for singling out Ressa’s tweet in the sea of allegations against Keng.

‘This absurd case threatens to send a journalist to prison for a single tweet that simply reposts an old newspaper article,’ Clooney said in a statement, as she had defended Ressa during her first cyber libel case also against Keng.

Arriving in court to dispute the case last week, Ressa herself pointed out the supposed absurdity of the case in this so-called ‘alternative reality.‘

‘We live in an alternative reality, I hate that word. I’m shocked, but maybe I can’t really say I’m shocked… But look, in which world can you go to jail for a tweet of a screengrab of a newspaper article?’

WATCH: Rappler’s Maria Ressa appears at Makati City Hall for scheduled arraignment on 2ND cyber-libel charge. Ressa: “In which world can you go to jail for a tweet of a screen-grab of a newspaper article?” pic.twitter.com/Fg3Fk1wMbB

— Howard Johnson (@Howardrjohnson) December 4, 2020

After Ressa and her legal team questioned the validity of the case, the court process has since been postponed until Keng’s lawyers issue a comment before December 11.

The post <b> Maria Ressa’s new cyber libel charge is all because of a Twitter screenshot </b> appeared first on WE THE PVBLIC.

Source: we the pvblic