Over the years our global network has grown to over 300 lawyers defending journalists. In 2025, Media Defence delivered a mix of in-person and online activities further strengthening this network. This included five regional litigation surgeries and our peer-to-peer mentoring programme. Over 100 lawyers took part in these activities, enhancing their legal expertise, fostering collaboration, and expanding our community.

“As lawyers working on sensitive human rights cases, we sometimes feel isolated in our struggles. But through this mentorship, I realised I am not alone.”

In order to ensure our collaboration with lawyers is both effective and sustainable, it is essential that we gather meaningful feedback and monitor impact. To achieve this, we regularly conduct litigation surgery feedback surveys.

In 2025 for the litigation surgery feedback surveys, we received 49 responses from the lawyers who participated at the surgeries: 20% respondents practised in South and Southeast Asia; 39% in Latin America; 27% in Sub Sahara Africa and 14% in MENA.

Feedback from the surveys indicate that Media Defence can have a positive impact on improving litigation skills and knowledge of freedom of expression issues:

“This workshop offered invaluable insights into strategic litigation and digital rights protection. Media Defence has created a powerful space for lawyers to build the skills needed to support journalists facing increasing risks.”

— South and Southeast Asia litigation surgery participant

Our litigation surgeries offer intensive, collaborative spaces where lawyers gain hands-on experience in defending freedom of expression through strategic litigation. But the real impact of these spaces lies in the way the knowledge, networks, and confidence gained by the participants translate into real-world action.

Our 2025 Sub-Saharan Africa litigation surgery

In September 2025, Media Defence convened 17 lawyers from 12 sub-Saharan African countries in Windhoek, Namibia. The programme focused on the misuse of defamation, public order and national security laws, alongside surveillance, digital rights and violence against journalists. A moot court exercise tested advocacy strategies in a simulated restrictive environment, strengthening litigation skills under political and institutional constraints. Participants also highlighted the increased targeting of lawyers themselves, with many facing surveillance, professional sanctions and legal harassment in retaliation for their work and underscoring the need for stronger regional solidarity and coordinated support mechanisms.

Five months after the surgery we contacted the litigation surgery participants again. The 11 responses we received show that participation at the litigation surgery had positive impact on the quality of the lawyers’ case strategies and submissions; lawyers feel better equipped to defend journalists and improved the participants’ professional networks:

“Participating in the surgery allowed me to deepen my understanding of the distinction between purely defensive litigation and a strategic approach aimed at producing a broader impact. In addition, I have generally had to work on litigation related to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, so this workshop allowed me to understand the specificity of strategic litigation related to freedom of expression. Each case or law is also analysed in terms of its contribution to the evolution of case law and its enormous positive impact on the defence of freedom of expression. In addition, thanks to this workshop, I am now paying even greater attention to developments in laws that are likely to be applied extensively and disproportionately restrict freedom of expression and the press.”

— Sub-Saharan Africa litigation surgery participant

Building further on the collaboration during the litigation surgery, Media Defence also welcomed as a visiting fellow Sumayyah Mokku from the Katiba Institute in Kenya in April 2026. Sumayyah, who participated at the Sub-Saharan Africa litigation surgery in 2025, spent 3 weeks with the Media Defence team exchanging knowledge and skills in strategic litigation.

These examples underscore that capacity strengthening is not a one-off intervention — it is the foundation of a growing global community. Thanks to the expertise and dedication of lawyers in our trusted network built through our litigation surgeries we are able to extend our reach to journalists and places we could not easily access or support on our own. You can read more about our lawyer network through our Press Freedom Advocates series.

If you are a lawyer representing journalists, please visit our Resource Hub, a source of free training materials and legal resources on freedom of expression.

You can also read more about the work of Media Defence in our 2025 Annual report.