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Maria Ressa won the Nobel Peace Prize
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Isaac Lawrence / AFP
She is one of the sharpest critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, revelations of Maria Ressa were denigrated by the government as fake news.
Now the Southeast Asian country has described the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the journalist as a sign of the allegedly intact freedom of the press in the state.
A spokesman for President Duterte said at a press conference on Monday: “The freedom of the press is alive and the Nobel Prize for Maria Ressa is the proof.” Duterte himself defamed the news website “Rappler”, co-founded by Ressa, as “fake news” -Medium".
Duterte spokesman Harry Roque said the Nobel Prize for Ressa was a "victory" for a Filipino woman.
"We are very happy about it."
Anyone who claims this "shouldn't be a journalist," he added.
Roque also rejected the evaluation of the Nobel Prize for Ressa as "gossip" for the government of the Philippines.
"Nobody in the Philippines has ever been censored," he said.
Philippine journalists' associations and human rights organizations had previously described the award for Ressa as a "triumph".
The Philippines are considered one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.
The country ranks 138th out of 180 on the Freedom of the Press ranking by Reporters Without Borders.
Ressa is also repeatedly the target of hostility.
In addition, the Filipino authorities are also taking legal action against the 58-year-old.
The former CNN correspondent is currently only released on bail.
She faces up to six years in prison for defamation.
Ressa is a "convicted criminal"
Roque called Ressa a "convicted criminal" at the press conference.
She must first "restore her reputation" before the judiciary.
Your fate depends on the courts, he emphasized.
Ressa, who is also a US citizen, is sharing this year's Nobel Peace Prize with Russian journalist Dmitri Muratov.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee justified the award for Ressa and Muratow with their services to freedom of expression.
svs / dpa / AFP
