Nobel prize winner Maria Ressa acquitted on tax evasion charges

• Ressa, a former CNN bureau chief, and Rappler were acquitted on four counts of tax violations earlier this year.

Details: "This is a victory not just for Rappler but for everyone who has kept the faith that a free and responsible press empowers communities and strengthens democracy," Rappler said in a statement, according to its website.

• The online Philippines news site became a target of the Duterte regime for investigative reporting that challenged the government's claims.

Yes, but: Ressa is still appealing a separate six-year prison sentence she received for a cyber libel conviction in 2020. She was released on bail after she was arrested for those charges in 2019.

• She and Rappler are also appealing an unprecedented 2022 government-ordered closure of Rappler.

What to watch: Press freedom groups, while lauding her recent acquittal, continue to pressure the Filipino government to drop its remaining charges.

• "As an immediate next step, we call on the government to abandon all remaining cases against Rappler and Ressa, and in doing so, put a long-overdue end to their persecution," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Hold the Line Coalition (HTL) said in a joint statement.

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