The Filipino journalist won the prize on Friday. The congratulation, released by a spokesman for the president, is striking as Ressa often openly criticizes Duterte and critically reported on the war on drugs in the country.
Convicted of Cyber Abuse
Duterte called Ressa and her news website Rappler fake news in the past. Ressa was convicted in 2020 for cyber abuse.
According to human rights groups, she has been convicted for her criticism of Duterte and his violent policies. She is out on bail pending appeal. The journalist hopes that she will receive permission to receive her prize in Norway.
“We congratulate Maria Ressa on becoming the first resident of the Philippines to win the Nobel Peace Prize,” said Duterte’s spokesman. “But it is of course also true that there are people who think that Maria Ressa has yet to clear her name in our courts,” the spokesperson continued, calling the journalist a “convicted criminal”.
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Ressa is the first resident of the Philippines to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
She will receive the prize this year together with Dmitri Muratov, editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Muratov and his newspaper, like Ressa and Rappler, are critical of the regime in their country. The Nobel Prize Committee praised the two journalists for their “courageous fight for freedom of expression.”
According to the president’s spokesman, the fact that the critical journalist now receives such a prestigious award is not seen as a slap on the wrist for the Philippine government. “There is no question of that because everyone knows that in the Philippines no one has ever had to deal with censorship.”
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Journalists
Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Berit Reiss-Andersen called the winners representatives of all journalists committed to such ideals “in a world where democracy and freedom of the press are under increasing pressure.”
It was the first time since 1935 that the prize had been awarded to members of the press.
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