Philippines journalist and Duterte critic freed on bail after new arrest

29 Mar, 2019 08:10 / Updated 6 years ago

The head of a Philippines news website known for critical reports about President Rodrigo Duterte was freed on bail hours after she was re-arrested at a Manila airport on Friday. “You cannot harass and intimidate journalists to silence. We’ll stand up and fight against it,” Maria Ressa, the award-winning head of news platform Rappler, said after posting bail of 90,000 pesos ($1,707). Rappler and its officials are now facing 11 cases, said Ressa, who posted bail for the seventh time. The journalist was served an arrest warrant over a libel case live on television last month and spent a night in detention before she was released, Reuters reports. She was arrested again on Friday, minutes after arriving from the United States, on charges of violating foreign ownership rules.