Media Defence

When a journalist is prosecuted for their reporting, who picks up the case? Usually a lawyer in their own country. Without them, our work couldn't happen. In 2025 we funded 19 partner organisations. They litigated 427 cases.

Read more: https://www.mediadefence.org/news/partner-impact-report-2025/

Six years after Chile's military intelligence service illegally wiretapped investigative journalist Mauricio Weibel, a Chilean court has convicted the judge and general responsible, in what press freedom organisations are calling the first ruling of its kind anywhere in the world.
Weibel's reporting on military procurement fraud and defence fund embezzlement recovered approximately USD 4.5 billion for the Chilean treasury and led to the prosecution of 850 military personnel. His work also fed a public debate that led Chile's Congress to repeal the Reserved Copper Law, redirecting roughly USD 2 billion a year from weapons purchases into the national budget.

For his reporting, Weibel was placed under illegal surveillance for years, an operation he helped expose using the same investigative methods he'd used against corruption.
Weibel spoke to Media Defence about the case, its cost, and what the ruling means for press freedom across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Read the full interview here: https://bit.ly/3Tsrzqe

: On 27 July, the Baku Court of Serious Crimes sentenced nine journalists and other individuals associated with the independent outlet Toplum TV to prison terms of up to 15 years, amounting to 121 years between them. The politically motivated charges related to the receipt and use of foreign funding.

The case is part of a sustained crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan that intensified after 2023.

In June 2025, six staff of the investigative outlet Abzas Media and a journalist from RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service were sentenced to between seven and a half and nine years on similar funding allegations.

Twelve defendants in the Meydan TV case have been on trial since December 2025 and remain in custody.

At least 25 journalists are now jailed in Azerbaijan in reprisal for their work.

Read the Committee to Protect Journalists statement for details of the verdict and the sentences handed down to each defendant:

https://cpj.org/2026/07/azerbaijan-cpj-condemns-shocking-sentences-handed-down-in-toplum-tv-case/

Human rights journalism requires courage, but it also requires the right tools. At the 14th Festival Gabo, our legal consultant Marta Cabrera will co-facilitate the workshop Journalism and Human Rights: How to Tell Stories with the Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court, alongside Daniel Pinilla and Ana Bejarano.

A hands-on session for journalists covering human rights in Latin America, exploring how to use the Inter-American Human Rights System as an investigative resource: real cases, research methodologies, and digital tools for reporting in contexts where rights are under threat.
Festival Gabo takes place 24–26 July in Bogotá.

And check out the full event schedule here: https://bit.ly/444cmgQ
🔗 festivalgabo.com

A new UNESCO report quantifies the value of independent journalism:

→ US$1 invested in journalism can generate over US$100 in public savings through reduced corruption and better public services
→ Disinformation costs societies an estimated US$355–516 billion a year
→ Funding healthy public media worldwide would cost roughly 0.1% of global GDP
→ Each additional New York Times story on a disaster corresponded to US$500,000 more in emergency aid, across a study of 2,337 disasters

Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/4pA8rT3

Update: due to the exceptionally high volume of applications received, we have brought our deadline forward.

The call now closes on Monday, 27th July 2026, rather than 31st July as previously announced.

Are you a human rights lawyer in Sub-Saharan Africa? ⚖️ Call for Applications | Litigation Surgery

🇰🇪 Nairobi, Kenya · 2–4 October 2026

Media Defence, the Robert & Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center and the Vuka! Coalition invite you to apply for a three-day litigation surgery on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the protection of human rights defenders.

You will bring a case, whether one you are litigating, one you intend to litigate, or a law you want to challenge, and present it to peers and specialists who work on these issues across the region. 15 lawyers will be selected. 🌍

Is this you?

🔸 Qualified lawyer working and residing in Sub-Saharan Africa
🔸 Private practice, or a human rights NGO litigating in the region
🔸 Working proficiency in English
🔸 Experience, interest or knowledge in freedom of expression, assembly and association, digital rights or related areas

What we cover 💰

Return travel · accommodation · airport transfers · visa reimbursement · per diem

Deadline: 31 July 2026 ⏳

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and the call may close early.

Apply here: https://www.mediadefence.org/news/call-for-applications-sub-saharan-africa-litigation-surgery/

Enquiries: [email protected]

Know a lawyer who should be in this room? Tag them below 👇