TACLOBAN
\nA young Philippine journalist who spent nearly six years in a crowded provincial prison was found guilty of terror financing on Thursday in a case rights groups and a UN expert labelled a \u201ctravesty of justice.\u201d
\nCommunity journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipino journalist to be prosecuted under the terror financing laws, which defense lawyer Julianne Agpalo said have become the government\u2019s \u201cweapon of choice\u201d for silencing dissent.
\nCumpio and former roommate Marielle Domequil broke down in tears and hugged each other as the guilty verdict was read and they were sentenced to up to 18 years in prison by judge Georgina Uy Perez of the Tacloban regional court.
\nThe duo, who were both acquitted on a lesser weapons charge, will be eligible for parole in about 12 and a half years.
\nIn a copy of the decision seen by AFP, the court said it was convinced by the testimony of former rebels who said the pair had provided the New People\u2019s Army (NPA), a designated terrorist group, with cash, arms and fabric for clothing.
\nThe Samar-Leyte region that is home to Tacloban is one of the last remaining operating areas of the Maoist insurgency.
\nBoth Cumpio and her advocates have insisted she was a victim of \u201cred-tagging,\u201d in which the government links its critics to the communist forces to silence them.
\nSpeaking outside the courthouse, lawyer Norberto Robel said his team would file an appeal.
\n\u201cDespite this (ruling), there is still a legal remedy and pending application for bail,\u201d he said.
\nThe case has been closely monitored by human rights groups including Amal Clooney\u2019s Clooney Foundation for Justice, which in October questioned the lengthy detainment, citing \u201crepeated postponements and slow progress.\u201d
\nUN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan had previously said the charges against Cumpio appeared to be \u201cin retaliation for her work as a journalist.\u201d
\nCumpio and Domequil were arrested in February 2020 on weapons charges, accused of possessing a handgun and a grenade.
\n\u2018Absurd verdict\u2019
\nOn Thursday, Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the court\u2019s decision.
\n\u201cThis absurd verdict shows that the various pledges made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to uphold press freedom are nothing but empty talk,\u201d she said, adding it was the first time a journalist had been charged with financing terrorism in the Philippines.
\n\u201cThe ruling underscores the lengths that Philippine authorities are willing to go to silence critical reporting.\u201d
\nAleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders, said the verdict demonstrated a \u201cblatant disregard for press freedom.\u201d
\n\u201cThe Philippines should serve as an international example of protecting media freedom \u2014 not a perpetrator that red-tags, prosecutes and imprisons journalists simply for doing their work,\u201d she said.
\nProsecutors declined to speak with AFP outside the courthouse.
\nIn September, more than 250 journalists and media groups called on President Marcos to release Cumpio, calling the charges \u201ctrumped up.\u201d
\nFollowing an evening mass on Wednesday, Cumpio\u2019s mother, Lala, told AFP that she visited her daughter in prison once each month, bringing her groceries, medication and chicken from Jollibee.
\nBringing in the gravy and soft drinks that accompanied the fast food meals was prohibited by guards, she added.
\n\u201cOf course, I\u2019m worried,\u201d Lala said of the looming decision. \u201cMy youngest keeps asking when his big sister will come home.\u201d
\nShe broke down in tears alongside her two sons outside the courthouse as the verdict was announced<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TACLOBAN A young Philippine journalist who spent nearly six years in a crowded provincial prison was found guilty of terror financing on Thursday in a case rights groups and a UN expert labelled a \u201ctravesty of justice.\u201d Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipino journalist to be prosecuted under the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n