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Maria Ressa, Journalist and Duterte Critic, Arrested in Philippines

Among journalists honored as Time’s 2018 Person of the Year.

Maria Ressa—the Philippine journalist and vocal critic of the country’s president who was honored as one of Time’s 2018 Person of the Year winners—was arrested Wednesday in connection with “cyber libel” charges against Rappler, the news site she runs. The charges are over an article published in 2012, Rappler reported on Twitter. Ressa, the chief executive of Rappler, has been indicted multiple times on libel and tax-evasion charges that have been criticized as politically motived attacks. Rappler reported that officers tried to stop journalists from filming the proceedings against Ressa on Wednesday, and one officer threatened reporters: “We’ll go after you, too.” Rappler’s reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte has been praised by human-rights advocates, but has made the site and its journalists a target for Duterte and his supporters. Time included Ressa among its selections for the 2018 Person of the Year award, which honored journalists who have been attacked and persecuted for their work.