Ph Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of cases against Lady Ann Salem

The Court of Appeals of the Philippines ruled to dismiss the motion for reconsideration filed by the government’s lawyers in their bid to reverse the dismissal of charges against journalist and IAWRT communication officer Lady Ann Salem.

After Salem was released from jail in March 2021, the government through the Office of the Solicitor General, then under former president Rodrigo Duterte, sought the reversal of the dismissal of the charges by the trial court that set Salem free. The case was pending for two years until the Court of Appeals dismissed it in January this year. But the government’s lawyers, under the new administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, filed a motion for reconsideration. Salem has been hounded by this case ever since she was released from jail and this also affected her safety and security.

Meanwhile, similar fabricated charges stemming from police raids and arrests against other IAWRT members and Philippine journalists Frenchie Mae Cumpio and Anne Krueger are still pending in court. IAWRT calls for all these fabricated charges to be dropped and for the release of Cumpio, who has been in jail since February 2020.