A picture of Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa is displayed in the Reporters Without Borders headquarters in Paris. (Photo: AFP)
Philippine Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa will fly to Norway to collect the award in person after a third court approved her application to attend the Dec. 10 ceremony.
Ressa, an outspoken critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov were named in October as the winners of this year's award for their efforts to "safeguard freedom of expression."
She is on bail pending an appeal against a conviction last year in a cyberlibel case and was required to apply to three courts for permission to pick up the prize in person in Oslo.
The Court of Tax Appeals ruled that Ressa, co-founder of news website Rappler, can travel to Norway from Dec. 8-13, according to the decision published on Dec. 6.
The veteran journalist told AFP today that she felt "great" after clearing the final legal hurdle.
The Court of Appeals, which is handling the cyberlibel case, last week approved her trip after rejecting government lawyers' claims that she was a flight risk.
Ressa has already received permission from a regional trial court in another case, according to Francis Lim, one of her lawyers.
She faces a total of seven court cases. They include the appeal against the conviction in the cyberlibel case, for which she faces up to six years in prison.
