The Philippine Court of Appeals has allowed the founder of news website Rappler to travel to Norway to accept her Nobel Peace Prize.
In a decision on Friday, the court’s Special Seventh Division granted Rappler Chief Executive Officer Maria A. Ressa’s plea to allow her to go to Norway on Dec. 8 to 13, subject to conditions.
Ms. Ressa must inform the court of her return from the United States where she will deliver lectures at Harvard University on Dec. 2, and her arrival from Oslo on Dec. 13, it said.
Her P500,000 travel bond that was used for her travel to the US, which the court had also approved, will coverher trip to Norway.
Solicitor General Jose C. Calida had tried to block Ms. Ressa’s motion to travel, saying she was a flight risk.
He said Ms. Ressa could attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony virtually.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Ms. Ressa along with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov on Oct. 8 “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition of democracy and lasting peace.”
Ms. Ressa is facing cyber-libel and tax evasion cases that she said are politically motivated. — Russell Louis C. Ku
