9 July 2020.
CLD is one of 60 organisations and supporters who have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines. Ressa is a prominent Filipino-American journalist and founder of the news website Rappler. On 15 June 2020, she was convicted of cyber-libel along with her former Rappler colleague Reynaldo Santos Jr. The conviction relates to a story about corruption from 2012 – before the law was even enacted – and hung on the correction of a typo.
The campaign takes its name from Ressa’s commitment to ‘hold the line’ in response to sustained state harassment. Those interested in showing support can sign the petition available here: https://rsf.org/en/free-mariaressa.
The full #HoldTheLine campaign announcement, along with contact information for those interested in joining the coalition, is available here: #HoldTheLine Campaign Announcement.
