CA allows Maria Ressa to travel to Oslo to receive her Nobel
The Court of Appeals (CA) has allowed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa to go to Oslo in Norway to personally receive her award.
In its resolution issued on Friday, the CA allowed Ressa to stay in Oslo for five days, from Dec. 8 to Dec. 13, "only for the purpose" of attending the Nobel awarding ceremonies on Dec. 10.
Ressa, co-founder of news website Rappler, and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov were awarded the prize in October for their efforts to "safeguard freedom of expression."
The Office of the Solicitor General opposed Ressa's going to Oslo, describing the journalist in court documents as "a flight risk." But the CA in its ruling saw it otherwise, stating that the Nobel laureate is in fact "not a flight risk."
The appellate court said Ressa's previous travel bond of P500,000 shall be applied in her trip to Oslo.
The CA also ordered Ressa to advise it in writing of her return to the country within 24 hours from arrival on Dec. 13.