THE LEGAL NETWORK FOR JOURNALISTS AT RISK (LNJAR)
The Legal Network for Journalists at Risk (LNJAR) was founded by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Media Defence and the Thomson Reuters Foundation to meet the growing need for legal support among independent journalists and media outlets. The LNJAR is a network of expert member organisations who have come together to create a single access-point to an ecosystem of legal support. Journalists facing legal attacks can contact any one of the member organisations individually, or email the Network directly. LNJAR members will work together to combine the different support available, tailoring its response to each case. This ensures that member organisations make the best possible use of limited resources and avoid duplication when providing legal support. To strengthen the legal environment for media freedom, member organisations will also collaborate on capacity building initiatives and advocacy.
The study titled The Use of SLAPPs to Silence Journalists, NGOs and Civil Society (June, 2021 ), commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee analyses legal definitions of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and assesses the compatibility of anti-SLAPP legislation with EU law. It is recommended that an anti-SLAPP Directive should be adopted, and that the Brussels Ia Regulation and Rome II Regulation should be recast to limit the incidence of SLAPPs.
Protecting Activists from Abusive Litigation: SLAPPs in the Global South and How to Respond (July, 2020), a report published by The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law presents the first cross-regional survey of SLAPPs in the Global South, along with the first rigorous comparative analysis of anti-SLAPP policy responses undertaken in the Global North and the Global South. Survey shows that SLAPPs pose a serious threat to the exercise of fundamental freedoms in the Global South, particularly for activists, civil society organizations, journalists, and community members who dare to criticize powerful entities.
SLAPPs in Europe: How the EU can protect watchdogs from abusive lawsuits (January, 2022), a report published by CASE.
Bartosz Wieliński, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Gazeta Wyborcza, speaks about how the newspaper has been harassed with Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), with at least 90 lawsuits being filed against the daily since 2015.
Peruvian journalist Christopher Acosta talks about his experience of being sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine following a defamation lawsuit brought by politician César Acuña, a former governor and two-time presidential candidate. While the case was subsequently dropped, Acosta experienced a lengthy, emotional and financially heavy diversion from his journalistic work.