# Court acquits Maria Ressa and Rappler of tax evasion

Date: 2023

On 18 January 2023 the Philippine Court of Tax Appeals cleared [Maria Ressa](/people/maria-ressa) and Rappler Holdings of four tax-evasion charges brought under the Duterte administration. Press-freedom advocates described the acquittal, which came after about five years of state-led legal pressure on Ressa, as a rare win for independent media in the Philippines.

## People

- Maria Ressa: https://factrail.ai/people/maria-ressa

## Sources

- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/12/nobel-laureate-maria-ressa-acquitted-in-philippines-tax-evasion-case
- https://ijnet.org/en/story/4-down-3-go-cataloging-maria-ressa%E2%80%99s-legal-battles-early-2023

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/ressa-acquitted-tax-evasion-2023-01-18