PARIS — A Filipina journalist was convicted guilty of supporting terrorism by a Philippine court on Thursday. The decision was applauded by anti-communist insurgency officials but denounced by press freedom watchdogs.
Cumpio and Domequil were given prison sentences ranging from 12 to 18 years, and they had the option to appeal the decisions, according to Ailene Balatay, the court clerk's attorney.
The charges were related to claims that in 2019 in the eastern province of Samar, Cumpio and Domequil gave financial and other forms of support to communist rebels from the New People's Army. In March 2020, they were taken into custody on suspicion of unlawfully possessing a firearm and a grenade.
Both strongly refuted the accusations. Activists have portrayed the allegations against Cumpio, 26, as the most recent indication of the dangers that reporters in the Philippines, which is thought to be among the world's most dangerous reporting locations, endure.
An study by the media advocacy group revealed that the charges against the two were false, and Reporters Without Borders and other organizations denounced the convictions as a "blatant miscarriage of justice."
Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager at Reporters Without Borders, said in a statement that Cumpio's conviction "represents a devastating failure on the part of the Philippine justice system and the authorities' blatant disregard for press freedom."
The group, also known by its French abbreviation RSF, stated that the Philippines should be a global model for defending media freedom rather than a country that red-tags, prosecutes, and imprisons journalists for merely carrying out their duties.
According to RSF, Cumpio was a radio news anchor and executive director of a provincial news website when she was arrested in 2020. She covered community welfare issues and alleged abuses by the military and police in the east-central Philippines.
The court's rejection of the charges of unlawfully possessing firearms and explosives "confirms that the accusations pushed by state security forces were fabricated from the start," said Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of the left-wing human rights organization Karapatan.
She claimed that in the "financing terrorism case," the same falsehoods and fabricated testimony were utilized to compel a conviction.
Cumpio's lengthy pretrial detention has angered U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan, who also stated that the charges against her "seem to have been filed in retaliation for her work as a journalist,' following months of'red-tagging,' surveillance, intimidation, and harassment."
Those who criticize the ruling as an act of intimidation against journalists or human rights workers are using "a lie meant to shield criminal liability with moral blackmail," according to a Philippine government task force that is in charge of efforts to put an end to the nation's decades-long communist insurgency.
"It's very clear that they were found guilty of funding a terrorist group," task force undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. stated. "You don't launder money for terrorism and then use the freedom of the press or the Bible to hide."
"Not incitement, not international propaganda, and not delegitimizing the justice system," Torres advised those who disagreed with the decision to think about appealing the decision.
