A Philippine court allowed Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, who faces travel restrictions due to legal cases, to travel to Norway to personally accept the Nobel Peace Prize. In granting her travel permission, the Court of Appeals ruled that Ressa has proven that she is 'not a flight risk' and that the travel to Oslo was "necessary and urgent."
"Any allegation that Ressa would be absconding is merely speculative at this moment," the court said, rejecting the solicitor general's objection to her request to travel. Ressa is the first Filipino to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov were awarded "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace." But the 58-year-old journalist needs court permission to travel abroad because she is out on bail while appealing her conviction for"cyber libel" in June 2020. If she loses the appeal, she faces up to six years in jail. - dpa
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