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Media Defence (registered company name: Media Legal Defence Initiative) is a non-governmental organization established in 2008 to provide legal assistance to journalists, citizen journalists and independent media. It also supports training in media law and promotes the exchange of information, litigation tools and strategies for lawyers working on media freedom cases.

It is based in London and has a global network of media lawyers and media freedom activists with whom it works on cases and projects.

History

The idea for the Media Defence originated in the aftermath of the criminal defamation trial in 2004 of Indonesian newspaperman Bambang Harymurti, editor of Tempo magazine (Indonesia). A group of people involved in assisting the defence of Harymurti recognised the need for an independent non-governmental organisation that would focus on providing legal support to journalists and media outlets around the world who needed assistance to defend their rights, as well as work to improve the capacity of lawyers in Southeast Asia and elsewhere to defend media freedom.

Media Defence was established as a not for profit company in June 2008 and registered as an independent charitable organisation in 2009. Gugulethu Moyo was Executive Director of Media Defence from June 2009 until July 2011.[1] Peter Noorlander was Chief Executive between April 2011 and April 2016. The organisation's current CEO is Lucy Freeman, who joined in 2016.

Since it started operating it has provided assistance in cases in countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, North and South America.

Assistance has been provided in the form of grants to individual litigants for the payment of legal fees, grants to support the work of national non-governmental organizations that provide legal services to the media, and free legal advice.

Media Defence has also given grants to enable the training and networking of media lawyers in countries including Thailand, Malaysia,[2] Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.

In 2020, the organisation rebranded from 'Media Legal Defence Initiative' to 'Media Defence'.

Notable cases supported

Media Defence has supported the legal defence of numerous journalists, citizen journalists and independent media organisations, including:

  • Burundi Journalists' Union v. Burundi, at the East African Court of Justice. Media Defence represented the Journalists Union with Don Deya arguing the matter before the EACJ;[3]
  • Lohé Issa Konaté v. Burkina Faso, the first free speech case before the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights which ruled that the imprisonment for defamation of a journalist from Burkina Faso violated his rights and ordered the country to change its laws. Media Defence's Legal Director, Nani Jansen, represented Lohé Issa Konaté v. Burkina Faso before the Court alongside John Jones QC and Steven Finizio;[4][5]
  • Media Defence contributed to the defence costs of Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy, on trial in Egypt on charges of being part of a terrorist group, broadcasting “false news, and operating without adequate licences”;[6]
  • The appeal to the European Court of Human Rights of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, two Azeri bloggers who uploaded a satirical video featuring an interview with a violin-playing donkey onto YouTube. In response they were beaten up - and then arrested and imprisoned for affray;[7]
  • The defence of Thai webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn in her criminal case for allowing comments that were critical of the Thai monarchy to appear on news and current affairs website, Prachatai;[8]
  • The defence of Nigerian corruption and human rights website Sahara Reporters in several multimillion-dollar libel suits launched against it in the United States;[9]
  • The defence of Ugandan journalist Patrick Otim, wrongly accused of treason and imprisoned for two years;[10]
  • The defence of Kenyan journalist Bernard Okebe, false accused of attempting to bribe the police following a story on police corruption;[11]
  • The defence of Thai newspaper columnist Kamol Kamoltrakul in a multimillion-dollar defamation case brought against him in 2008 by Tesco Lotus, the Southeast Asian subsidiary of Tesco PLC, the world's second largest supermarket chain. Mr Kamoltrakol had criticised Tesco Lotus for driving homegrown small businesses out of existence. After much pressure Tesco eventually dropped the case;[12]
  • Raynor v. Richardson, which overturned Bermuda's criminal libel statute;[13]
  • Wattan TV's appeal to the Israeli High Court for compensation and damages, following an illegal army raid on their offices;[14]
  • A case brought against Ugandan police brought by two journalists who were beaten up when they tried to film a story critical of the police;[15]
  • The defence in 2009 and subsequent appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee of the libel case of Almas Kusherbaev, a Kazakh journalist who criticised the involvement of a Kazakh politician, Romin Madinov, in the trade of grain which has pushed up the price of bread in the country;[16]
  • The defence of Rwandan journalists Agnes Uwimana and Saidat Mukakibibi, for which it send a legal team consisting of Media Defence's Legal Counsel Nani Jansen and barrister John Jones to conduct the defence of the case alongside Rwandan counsel. Initially convicted on multiple counts of genocide denial and endangering national security and sentenced to seventeen and seven years, a Media Defence-supported Supreme Court appeal saw the two acquitted on all charges save defamation of the president and one count of endangering national security and the sentences reduced.[17] The case is currently pending before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.[18]
  • Submitting cases of prominent Vietnamese citizen journalists and rights activists including Le Dinh Luong, Nguyen Van Dai and Nguyen Dang Minh Man to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.[19][20][21]
  • Representing the plaintiffs of the 2017 Togo Internet shutdown case alongside Amnesty International. The ECOWAS Court ruled that Togo, by shutting down the Internet in 2017, violated the rights of the plaintiffs – seven Togolese NGOs and a journalist.
  • Representing award-winning journalist Khadija Ismayilova alongside Yalchin Imanov and international law firms Wilmer Hale and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in a 2013 privacy case. The ECtHR found violations of Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights by Azerbaijan as a result of intrusions into Ismayilova's private life.
  • Intervening in the case of Szurovecz v Hungary, where the European Court of Human Rights held that a refusal to grant a journalist access to an asylum seeker reception centre in Hungary violated his right to freedom of expression.
  • Supporting the case of Mseto in Tanzania after a ministerial order against Mseto attempted to ban it from publishing for three years.
  • Work in the case of Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) and others v. The Gambia, where the ECOWAS Court found that the rights of four Gambian journalists had been violated by the actions of the Gambian authorities, and through the enforcement of laws criminalising speech.
  • Submitting an amicus brief alongside PEN International, PEN America, PEN Mexico, PEN Quebec, Media Law Resource Center, Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP), and Human Rights Watch in the case of Tulio Álvarez v Venezuela.

Media Defence has been invited to intervene as amicus curiae in the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Von Hannover v. Germany (2) (application no. 40660/08), adjudicated in February, 2012, on the balance between privacy and freedom of expression,MGN Trinity Mirror v. UK, in which it argued that the high cost of defending libel cases violates the right to freedom of expression,[22][23] and Pauliukas v. Lithuania[24] in 2009. The European Court issued a strong ruling agreeing with Media Defence's submissions in the MGN case. Along with others, Media Defence also intervened in Max Mosley's application to the European Court of Human Rights,[25] as to whether there should be advance notice given to targets in privacy cases, and Sanoma v Netherlands a case addressing the protection of journalistic sources. In both cases, its arguments were accepted by the Court. It has interventions pending in a case challenging so-called "false news" laws, prohibiting the publication of anything the authorities deem to be incorrect;[26] and in a case concerning the abuse of criminal libel laws.[27]

Media Defence has also been at the forefront of a campaign at the Council of Europe to address the impact that counter-terrorism laws are having on media freedom.[28] The Council's campaign has resulted in a pledge by States to review these laws.[29]

With the IBA and others, Media Defence also supports the development of media lawyers network in Southeast Asia.[30]

Partners

Media Defence works with a large network of partner organisations and individual lawyers around the world. As of December 2020, its partners include C-Libre, Human Rights Platform, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Media Development Center, Media Policy Institute, Ossigeno per l'informazione, The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, TOHAV, MLSA, Unwanted Witness, Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism.[31]

Individual lawyers it works with include Mark Stephens CBE,[32] Geoffrey Robertson QC, John Jones, Mark Simpson QC, Heather Rogers QC and Jessica Simor in the UK, Kurt Wimmer, Rob Balin, and Stuart Karle in the US, Mulya Lubis in Indonesia, Professor Harry Roque in the Philippines, James Nangwala in Uganda and others across the world.

Organisation and funding

Media Defence is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom. Param Cumaraswamy, Professor Yuen-Ying Chan, Jon Snow, Adam Michnik, Geoffrey Robertson QC, Floyd Abrams, José Zalaquett, Paul Collier, Hina Jilani, Margaret Sekaggya, Mark Ellis, Wilf Mbanga and Soli Sorabjee are patrons.[33]

Media Defence also has an International Advisory Board which includes Bambang Harymurti, Eduardo Bertoni, Beatrice Mtetwa, Mark Stephens CBE (Chair), Karinna Moskalenko, Cyril Shroff and Stuart Karle. Its trustees are Gwyneth Henderson, Martin Kramer, Stephen Tough, Professor Philip Leach, Mark Ellis and Wilf Mbanga.

Since it was established, Media Defence has received funding from donors including the Open Society Institute,[34] the Sigrid Rausing Trust,[35] the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the William F Kerby And Robert S Potter Fund, the Adessium Foundation, Google, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the MacArthur Foundation.[36] As of December 2020, Media Defence's funders are Adessium Foundation, Chambers & Partners, Dow Jones, Facebook, Open Society Foundations, Hivos, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Luminate, National Endowment for Democracy, Sigrid Rausing Trust, U.S. State Department for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Ford Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, UNESCO and Nicholas Puech Foundation.[37]

Award

In March 2015 the Media Defence was awarded Columbia University's inaugural Global Freedom of Expression Prize.[38]

References

  1. ^ "MLDI - a short history | Media Legal Defence Initiative". archive.is. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  2. ^ "Report on the Media Defense Lawyers Training - The Malaysian Bar". www.malaysianbar.org.my. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-05-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Jailed Burkinabe journalist appeals to African Court". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2015-04-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2012-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-21. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ http://mediadefence.org/news/palestinian-broadcaster-wattan-seeks-justice-following-illegal-army-raid
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ http://www.mediadefence.org/article/can-weighty-stone-be-cracked[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2012-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ "Petition filed at the UNWGAD on behalf of jailed journalist and activist Lê Đình Lượng | Media Legal Defence Initiative". www.mediadefence.org. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  20. ^ "Photojournalist imprisoned for eight years for taking photos is moved to house arrest | Media Legal Defence Initiative". www.mediadefence.org. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  21. ^ "Viet Nam condemned strongly by UN Working Group | Media Legal Defence Initiative". www.mediadefence.org. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  22. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2009-09-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Press Gazette, CFA 'unjustifiable restriction on freedom of expression'
  23. ^ Text of the submission
  24. ^ Text of the submission
  25. ^ "Mosley case intervention on privacy laws to European Court of Human Rights'" - Finers Stephens Innocent
  26. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2012-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2012-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. ^ address by MLDI's legal director to the Committee of Ministers
  29. ^ the Guardian, Freedom of expression must be protected, says Council of Europe
  30. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ^ "Our Funded Partners". Media Defence. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  32. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2012-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  33. ^ "Our Organisation". Media Defence. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  34. ^ Soros Network 2008 Annual Report
  35. ^ See http://www.sigrid-rausing-trust.org/Grantees/Media-Legal-Defence-Initiative
  36. ^ List of recent MacArthur Foundation grants Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ "Our Organisation". Media Defence. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  38. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-10. Retrieved 2015-05-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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