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A young Filipino 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 rapporteur labelled a \u201ctravesty of justice\u201d.<\/p>\n
Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio,<\/a> 26, and former roommate Marielle Domequil broke down in tears and hugged each other as the guilty verdict was read and they were sentenced to 12-18 years in prison by judge Georgina Uy Perez of the Tacloban regional court.<\/p>\n They were both acquitted on a lesser weapons charge.<\/p>\n Speaking outside the courthouse, Cumpio\u2019s lawyer Norberto Robel said his team would file an appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite this [ruling], there is still a legal remedy and pending application for bail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The 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.<\/p>\n UN special rapporteur Irene Khan had previously said the charges against Cumpio appeared to be \u201cin retaliation for her work as a journalist\u201d.<\/p>\n Cumpio and Domequil were arrested in February 2020 on weapons charges, accused of possessing a handgun and a grenade.<\/p>\n More than a year later, a charge of terror financing, with a potential 40-year jail sentence, was added.<\/p>\n Both Cumpio and her advocates have insisted she was a victim of \u201cred-tagging\u201d, in which the government links its critics to a long-running communist insurgency to silence them.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Beh Lih Yi, Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cThis absurd verdict shows that the various pledges made by president Ferdinand Marcos Jr<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ruling underscores the lengths that Philippine authorities are willing to go to silence critical reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside the courthouse, riot police blocked a crowd of supporters that included Cumpio\u2019s mother, Lala, from entering the courtyard.<\/p>\n Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders, said the verdict demonstrated a \u201cblatant disregard for press freedom\u201d.<\/p>\n