Joining Amal are fellow barristers Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, Can Yeginsu, and Katherine O'Byrne. They will also be working with a counsel from law firm Covington & Burling LLP's Washington D.C. office and a counsel in Manila.
It's not the first time she's represented the rights of journalists. In March 2018, she joined the team of Imprisoned Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The two Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters spent more than 500 days before their May 7 release. Other high-profile clients have included WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"Maria Ressa is a courageous journalist who is being persecuted for reporting the news and standing up to human rights abuses. We will pursue all available legal remedies to vindicate her rights and defend press freedom and the rule of law in the Philippines," Amal said.
Ressa is the CEO and executive editor of news website Rappler and is currently facing a string of charges including ones for cyber libel, tax evasion, and violation of the anti-dummy law. Human rights groups have called these charges politically motivated because Rappler has been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.
The veteran journalist has received immense support from journalists, activists, universities, and other institutions in the Philippines and all over the world for holding the line and continuing to report about violence and corruption in the Duterte government despite her legal woes.
"I have been targeted and attacked simply for being an independent journalist. I am delighted that Amal Clooney and her team will be representing me at the international level to challenge the violations of my rights and those of the media organization I represent," Ressa said, according to the Doughty Street Chambers statement today.
Ressa and Amal previously met in April during the launch of TrialWatch, an advocacy project headed by the international lawyer and her husband actor George Clooney who has expressed support for Ressa, reported Rappler.
"Maria is about to risk going back and she's going back because she believes that shining a light on crime – a shining light in general, is the best and most important thing. And she won't be afraid," George said during the event.
"I'm afraid for her and all of us here are so proud of your ability to shine a light and we're all going to do everything we can to make sure it stays allowed for you." He also called Ressa the "bravest of them all," while talking about TrialWatch with reporters in May.
