‘FLIGHT RISK’?

Philippines Moves to Block Nobel Peace Prize Winner From Accepting in Person

The organization that awards the Nobel Peace Prize called the decision a “disgrace.”

Lawyers representing the Philippine government have moved to block Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa from traveling to Oslo, Norway, to accept the honor. After Ressa, who has been an outspoken critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, filed for a petition to travel, the Philippines solicitor general fired back in opposition to the request, deeming the journalist had not conveyed a “compelling reason” for the trip. Additionally, the solicitor general deemed the journalist a “flight risk” because she criticized the “Philippine legal processes in the international community.” The Nobel Institute, the governing body over the bestowing of Nobel Peace Prize awards, called the move from the country a “disgrace.”