In 2007 an Azerbaijani journalist, Ilgar Nasibov, wrote to the country’s president to complain about police brutality. He was accused of libelling local police officers and was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. A week later he won an appeal only to be given a suspended sentence on related charges, and appeals against this sentence have failed. Nasibov has long been a thorn in the side of his local authorities and it is widely believed his trial was unfair. The MLDI is now working with Mr Nasibov’s lawyers to prepare a submission to the European Court of Human Rights.
Recent: Emergency Defence
Chile Jails Judge and General Who Spied on Journalist Mauricio Weibel
The below is a translation of Spanish Press Release written by Mauricio Weibel Barahona. In what press freedom organisations are calling an unprecedented ruling, a court has convicted a judge
Decisión fue adoptada por la justicia chilena
Leer en inglés aquí Por primera vez en la historia del mundo, un tribunal condena a un juez y un general por espiar a un periodista. La sentencia inapelable fue dictada luego de seis años
Rwandan Journalist Aimable Karasira Uzaramba Dies on Day of Scheduled Release from Prison
Media Defence is deeply concerned by the death of Rwandan YouTuber and former university lecturer Aimable Karasira Uzaramba, who died under suspicious circumstances on 7 May 2026 — the day of his scheduled release following a five-year sentence. The Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) stated that Karasira died at