London, 5 September 2016 – The Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) today announced the appointment of Pádraig Hughes as Legal Director. In this role he will lead MLDI’s legal strategies to provide support to independent media, journalists and bloggers worldwide who are under threat for their reporting, and to advance media freedoms globally.
Pádraig Hughes joins MLDI from a London based law firm specialising in international human rights law, international humanitarian law and public law. Prior to that, Pádraig was Litigation Director at a London based NGO, litigating cases before a number of international and regional tribunals on issues concerning violations of human rights including extraordinary rendition, torture, arbitrary detention, freedom of expression and discrimination. Pádraig also spent nine years as a barrister at the Irish bar, where he practised in criminal law and refugee law.
“We are thrilled to welcome Pádraig to MLDI” said Lucy Freeman, CEO of MLDI. “He is an excellent strategic lawyer and brings a wealth of litigation experience to this post.”
“I am delighted to be joining MLDI to assist in its essential work in contributing to the protection of journalists, bloggers and independent media across the world” said Pádraig.
Recent News
Upcoming Webinar: Legal Considerations for Environmental Journalists
March 25th 3PM CET Online Join our webinar in collaboration with Journalismfund Europe for a conversation about the risks for environmental journalists and ways to mitigate them with a Media Defence legal expert. Register Here As global environmental disasters increasingly hammer home the realities of climate change, the need for in-depth reporting has never been […]
The Growing Threat of Lawfare: Defending Journalists and Independent Media
The global use of lawfare—where governments and powerful actors weaponise legal systems to silence journalists—is increasingly on the rise. Combatting lawfare has been central to Media Defence’s mission since our founding in 2008. As a serious threat to journalists and freedom of expression, addressing lawfare continues to be a strategic priority for our work. How […]
Join us at RightsCon 2025
We are excited to be part of RightsCon 2025, taking place 24-27 February in Taipei and online. This year, we are hosting and participating in several sessions that explore surveillance, digital rights, and freedom of expression, alongside experts from across the globe. Our Sessions at RightsCon Taking Spyware to Court: Challenges and Opportunities of Spyware […]