Media Legal Defence Initiative

The Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) is a non-governmental organization established in 2008 to provide legal assistance to journalists and news media organizations, support training in media law and promote the exchange of information, litigation tools and strategies for lawyers working on media freedom cases.

It is based in London and has a global network of media lawyers and media freedom activists with whom it works on cases and projects.

Contents 1 History 2 Notable cases supported by the MLDI 3 Organisation and funding 4 External links 5 Notes

History

The idea for the Media Legal Defence Initiative originated in the aftermath of the criminal defamation trial in 2004 of Indonesian newspaperman Bambang Harymurti, editor of Tempo magazine (Indonesia). A group of people involved in assisting the defence of Harymurti recognised the need for an independent non-governmental organisation that would focus on providing legal support to journalists and media outlets around the world who needed assistance to defend their rights, as well as work to improve the capacity of lawyers in Southeast Asia and elsewhere to defend media freedom.

The Media Legal Defence Initiative was established as a not for profit company in June 2008 and registered as an independent charitable organisation in 2009.^[1]

Since it started operating it has provided assistance in cases in countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, North and South America.

Assistance has been provided in the form of grants to individual litigants for the payment of legal fees, grants to support the work of national non-governmental organizations that provide legal services to the media, and free legal advice.

The Media Legal Defence Initiative has also given grants to enable the training and networking of media lawyers in countries including Thailand, Malaysia,^[2] Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.

Notable cases supported by the MLDI

Cases in which the Media Legal Defence Initiative has provided support include:

• The defence of the Gambian journalists Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, Emil Touray, Pa Modou Fall, Pap Saine, Ebrima Sawaneh and Sam Sarr convicted in 2009 of sedition and criminal libel for criticising their government's failure properly to investigate the killings and disappearances of journalists in their country;^[3]
• The defence of Thai newspaper columnist Kamol Kamoltrakul in a multi-million dollar defamation case brought against him in 2008 by Tesco Lotus, the Southeast Asian subsidiary of Tesco PLC, the world's second largest supermarket chain. Mr Kamoltrakol had criticised Tesco Lotus for driving homegrown small businesses out of existence;^[4]
• A case brought against Ugandan police brought by two journalists who were beaten up when they tried to film a story critical of the police;^[5]
• The defence in 2009 of Almas Kusherbaev, a Kazakh journalist who criticised the involvement of a Kazakh politician, Romin Madinov, in the trade of grain which has pushed up the price of bread in the country;^[6]
• The MLDI intervened as amicus curiae in the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of MGN Trinity Mirror v. UK, in which it argued that the high cost of defending libel cases violates the right to freedom of expression,^[7][8] and Pauliukas v. Lithuania^[9] in 2009. The European Court issued a strong ruling agreeing with MLDI's submissions in the MGN case. Along with others, MLDI also intervened in Max Mosley's application to the European Court of Human Rights^[10], as to whether there should be advance notice given to targets in privacy cases, and Sanoma v Netherlands a case addressing the protection of journalistic sources. In both cases, its arguments were accepted by the Court.

The Media Legal Defence Initiative has also been at the forefront of a campaign at the Council of Europe to address the impact that counter-terrorism laws are having on media freedom.^[11] The Council's campaign has resulted in a pledge by States to review these laws.^[12]

With the IBA and others, MLDI also supports the development of media lawyers network in Southeast Asia.^[13]

Organisation and funding

The Media Legal Defence Initiative is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom. Param Cumaraswamy, Professor Yuen-Ying Chan, Jon Snow, Adam Michnik, Geoffrey Robertson QC, Floyd Abrams, José Zalaquett, Paul Collier, Hina Jilani, Margaret Sekaggya and Soli Sorabjee are patrons.

MLDI also has an International Advisory Board which includes Bambang Harymurti, Eduardo Bertoni, Beatrice Mtetwa, Mark Stephens, Karinna Moskalenko, Cyril Shroff and Stuart Karle. Its trustees are Gwyneth Henderson, Martin Kramer, Stephen Tough, Ann Grant, Professor Philip Leach, and Wilf Mbanga.

Since it was established, the Media Legal Defence Initiative has received funding from private donors including the Open Society Institute,^[14] the Sigrid Rausing Trust^[15], the Adessium Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.^[16]

External links

• Media Legal Defence Initiative
• MLDI on Facebook

Notes

1. ^ MLDI's Charity Registration
2. ^ Report from the Malaysian Bar Human Rights Group
3. ^ See http://www.freedomnewspaper.com/Homepage/tabid/36/mid/367/newsid367/4486/GambiaGPU-Welcomes-Release-of-Six-Journalists/Default.aspx
4. ^ http://www.mediadefence.org/cases_and_projects.html
5. ^ http://www.mediadefence.org/cases_and_projects.html
6. ^ http://www.mediadefence.org/cases_and_projects.html
7. ^ http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=43358 Press Gazette, CFA 'unjustifiable restriction on freedom of expression'
8. ^ Text of the submission
9. ^ Text of the submission
10. ^ "Mosley case intervention on privacy laws to European Court of Human Rights'" - Finers Stephens Innocent
11. ^ address by MLDI's legal director to the Committee of Ministers
12. ^ the Guardian, Freedom of expression must be protected, says Council of Europe
13. ^ http://www.probono.net/medialaw/lawyers/
14. ^ Soros Network 2008 Annual Report
15. ^ See http://www.sigrid-rausing-trust.org/Grantees/Media-Legal-Defence-Initiative
16. ^ List of recent MacArthur Foundation grants