Outcry over Philippine journalist’s arrest

The co-founder of Rappler, an online news start-up critical of President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested in a digital libel case against her media outlet.

Maria Ressa was denied bail, according to a Rappler editor. In an emailed statement, she said: “These legal acrobatics show how far the government will go to silence journalists, including the pettiness of forcing me to spend the night in jail.” The country’s National Union of Journalists, called her arrest a “shameless act of persecution by a bully government.”

This case is the latest in a string of legal attacks against her and other journalists by the government.

Background: Rappler has helped draw global attention to the brutal war on drugs Mr. Duterte has waged since coming into power in 2016.

This arrest is related to an article that Rappler published in 2012 looking into questionable transactions between the chief justice at the time and a wealthy businessman.

Analysis: Ms. Ressa’s arrest represents the most dramatic sign yet of Mr. Duterte’s crackdown on the news media. He has openly called reporters “sons of bitches” and has even warned he would not allow the renewal of the license of the country’s biggest broadcast news network.