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Interventions & Amicus Briefs
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UK violated journalist’s free speech rights by arresting, charging her under Protection from Harassment Act
The ECtHR has found that the UK violated the right to freedom of expression of a journalist when she was arrested and prosecuted. Rita Pal was charged 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…
Strasbourg court’s right to be forgotten decision will impact public interest reporting
In a worrying expansion of the application of the 'right to be forgotten' the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) has decided that a journalist may be held liable for failing or refusing to de-index information published on the Internet. In Biancardi v Italy the applicant, an editor of a newspaper, complained that he…
ECtHR Finds Russian Regulator Unlawfully Issued Warnings Against Newspaper Reporting on Extremist Organisations
The European Court of Human Rights has handed down judgment today in the case of Novaya Gazeta and ZAO Novaya Gazeta v Russia. Regulating Independent Media One of the key issues raised by the case was the extent to which state regulators can lawfully regulate independent media. Novaya Gazeta newspaper had received a warning from Rozkomnadzor,…
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…
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…