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Coalition against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE)
Media Defence is a member of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE). CASE is a coalition of non-governmental organisations from across Europe, working to expose SLAPPs, build resilience and advocate for law reform to prevent their use.
Featured Cases
SLAPPs in South Africa: The Karyn Maughan Case
Private prosecutions are rare in South Africa. That is particularly true when an individual accused in another criminal case prosecutes a journalist who is reporting on their case. They are even more unprecedented when the accused who is pursuing the private prosecution is a former president of the country. Such a case, initiated by former…
Fighting SLAPPs in Colombia
Constitutional Court declares law facilitating SLAPPs in Colombia 'unconstitutional'. In Colombia, there is a 75-year-old law that regulates the conduct of civil lawsuits against press publications. On the 13th May 2021, the Constitutional Court of Colombia declared it unconstitutional. The law stated that where a person stood accused of causing harm through a publication, they…
SLAPP Lawsuit Used to Silence Reporting on Alleged Labour Rights Abuses
Media Defence is supporting Thai journalist subject to SLAPP lawsuit after reporting on alleged labour rights violations We are supporting Suchanee Cloitre, a journalist facing criminal defamation proceedings filed by Thammasakaet, a poultry company based in Thailand. In 2019, Thailand's Human Rights Commission accused the company of committing serious labour rights violations against its migrant…
Media Defence Supports Swiss Independent Media Outlet Gotham City
Gotham City is an independent media outlet based in Lausanne, specialising in reporting on international financial crime, corruption, fraud and money laundering in Switzerland and abroad. Founded in 2017, the online magazine is facing more and more legal threats as its audience grows. In 2020 Gotham City faced five lawsuits, all involving requests for ‘super…
Media Defence Supports Legal Defence of Cameroonian Journalist in Multiple Lawsuits Filed by International Timber Company
Media Defence is supporting Nestor Nga Etoga, an investigative journalist in Cameroon. An international timber company has filed multiple lawsuits against Mr Nga Etoga, after he published what he alleged was evidence of its various unlawful practices. Mr Nga Etoga, a freelance reporter, published his findings on an online news website in 2016. In response,…
World Press Freedom Day 2021: Watch Media Defence’s Webinar on SLAPPs
https://youtu.be/UZcdz7-PWiM On the 4th May 2021, Media Defence hosted a free webinar to discuss the use of abusive litigation to silence journalists around the world. The webinar featured as part of UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day and you can watch it, in full, above. In Brazil, journalist and author João Paulo Cuenca became the defendant…