TACLOBAN, Philippines: A young Philippine 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 expert labelled a “travesty of justice.”
Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipino journalist to be prosecuted under the terror financing laws, which defense lawyer Julianne Agpalo said have become the government’s “weapon of choice” for silencing dissent.
Cumpio and former roommate Marielle Domequil broke down in tears and hugged each other as the guilty verdict was read and they were sentenced to up to 18 years in prison by judge Georgina Uy Perez of the Tacloban regional court.
The duo, who were both acquitted on a lesser weapons charge, will be eligible for parole in about 12 and a half years.
In a copy of the decision seen by AFP, the court said it was convinced by the testimony of former rebels who said the pair had provided the New People’s Army (NPA), a designated terrorist group, with cash, arms and fabric for clothing.
