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Modules on Digital Rights and Freedom of Expression Online
We have developed an eReader which is now home to the new Summary and Advanced Modules on Digital Rights and Freedom of Expression Online. Our eReader has been developed as part of our Digital Rights Advocates Project (DRAP). The Modules are fully searchable, easily copied and pasted, and downloadable as PDFs.
Interventions & Amicus Briefs
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Media Defence Files Intervention at Polish court in Case of Journalist ‘Blocked’ from Facebook Page of Local Mayor
Media Defence has filed an intervention in a case before the First Civil Division of the Płock District Court in Poland. The case has been brought by journalist Norbert Orłowski against Krzysztof Kosiński, Mayor of Ciechanów. The journalist was blocked from the Mayor’s personal Facebook Page so that he can no longer post or comment…
European Court Finds Turkey Violated the Rights to Liberty and Security and Freedom of Expression of Journalist Murat Aksoy, Detained in the Crackdown Following the July 2016 Attempted Coup
The European Court of Human Rights has held that Turkey violated the Article 5(1) and 10 rights of journalist Murat Aksoy. Mr Aksoy was arrested and detained in the government crackdown following the July 2016 attempted coup. Media Defence intervened as a third party in the case, along with 12 other freedom of expression organisations.…
Media Defence Intervenes at Strasbourg Court in ‘Right to be Forgotten’ Case
Media Defence, along with a number of other NGOs, has filed a third-party intervention at the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Biancardi v Italy. The case concerns the application of the ‘right to be forgotten’ to a newspaper article about the commission of a crime. The applicant in the case owned…
Media Defence Files Amicus Curiae Brief in the Case of Jineth Bedoya
Media Defence has filed an amicus curiae brief at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Jineth Bedoya v Colombia. In May 2000, award-winning journalist Jineth Bedoya (who is known for her reporting on the activities of Colombia’s paramilitary groups) visited the infamous Modelo prison in Bogotá to interview a prisoner. While…
Media Defence Intervenes at ECtHR in Case of UK Journalist Arrested Under Harassment Law
Media Defence has filed a third party intervention at the ECtHR in the case of Pal v UK. Ms Pal was arrested and prosecuted under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, after she published a news article online and posted several Tweets about an individual who subsequently complained to the police. She was arrested, handcuffed, and brought from Birmingham…
Media Defence Files Intervention at Warsaw Court in Defamation Case Brought by Municipality
Media Defence has filed an intervention before the Third Division of the Warsaw District Court. The case has been brought by the Podkowa Lesna municipality against an environmental organisation called the Association of Cultural and Landscape Heritage, known as “Dendropolis”. The case concerns a civil defamation lawsuit brought by the municipality. It is in response…
Media Defence Files Intervention Before Constitutional Court of Colombia in MOVICE Case
Media Defence has filed an intervention before the Constitutional Court of Colombia, in the case of Marcos Evangelista Pinto v. National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE). The case concerns a mural painted by MOVICE activists in Bogotá, which referred to the magnitude of extrajudicial killings carried out by the Colombian Army from 2000…
European Court Finds Turkey Violated Cumhuriyet Journalists’ Rights to Liberty and Security, Freedom of Expression, Detained in the Crackdown Following July 2016 Coup
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Turkey violated the Article 5(1)(c) and 10 rights of ten journalists working at the prominent Turkish newspaper, Cumhuriyet. The journalists were arrested and detained in the government crackdown following the July 2016 attempted coup. Media Defence intervened as a third party in the case, along…
Media Defence Files Amicus Curiae Brief Before Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice on the Use of Force During Protests
On 22 September 2020, Media Defence filed an amicus curiae brief before Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice, in a case challenging the constitutionality of the country’s national Law on the Use of Force. The brief, filed together with Article 19 (Office for Mexico and Central America), examines international legal standards governing the use of force,…
Legal Factsheets
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Defending the Media in Satire Cases: Factsheet
Satire is not an easy concept to define. Jonathan Greenberg, in The Cambridge Introduction to Satire, manages to summarise the diverse satirical writings of raunchy Restoration-era poets, the author Salmon Rushdie and New York Times food critic Pete Wells as all sharing one key attribute: "…none of the writing is merely a work of aggression…
Defending the Media in Defamation Cases: Factsheet
Defamation can be described in a number of ways – but is broadly understood as the communication of a false statement that unjustly causes harm or detriment to legal or natural person's reputation. Defamation laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Therefore, the first step in defending any defamation claim is to identify the applicable jurisdiction…
Training Manuals
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Manual on European Defamation Law
The Media Legal Defence Initiative and the International Press Institute have published a powerful new tool for defending the European media’s right to report on matters of public interest. A comprehensive reference and training manual for lawyers and journalists on European legal standards related to freedom of expression and the protection of reputation, “Freedom of Expression, Media…
Media Defence Manual on Freedom of Expression Law
The Media Defence manual on international and comparative media and freedom of expression law consists of a 136-page guide to international and comparative freedom of expression law, introducing topics ranging from defamation to national security restrictions on free speech, accompanied by a set of powerpoint slides for use by trainers. The manual can also be…
Media Defence Manual on Litigating Freedom of Expression Cases in East Africa
This manual is designed to assist lawyers representing journalists and bloggers at the regional level in East Africa. It therefore concentrates on setting out the processes and procedures for filing and arguing human rights cases before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the East…
Training Manual on Litigation and Freedom of Expression in West Africa
To help equip lawyers to promote freedom of expression we are sharing our West Africa Regional Mechanisms Training Manual which provides tools and advice on litigating in defence of freedom of expression in West Africa. If you are interested in learning how to litigate cases on freedom of expression and protecting the rights of the…
Media Defence Training Manual on Digital Rights and Freedom of Expression Online
The Media Defence Training Manual on Digital Rights and Freedom of Expression Online is designed to assist lawyers represent web-based journalists, bloggers and other online media. It comprises a comprehensive overview of international and comparative law on access to the internet, digital privacy and online data protection as well as specific types of speech-related offences…
Media Defence Digital Rights Litigation Guide
The Media Defence Digital Rights Litigation Guide provides practical information in respect to litigating online freedom of expression cases in East, West and Southern Africa. It includes general tips and strategies as well as specific guidance on bringing cases before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights,…