Political Persecution

Rights groups are condemning the conviction of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio on January 22 as a "miscarriage of justice" stemming from a plot by the NTF-ELCAC to suppress independent journalism. She was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison alongside lay worker Marielle Domequil for allegedly funding the New People's Army in 2019, though both were acquitted on weapons charges.