Digital Defenders Partnership - Support Centres

The Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP) was formed in 2012 by the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC). The aim of the DDP is to protect and advance internet freedom, and to keep the internet free from emerging threats, specifically in repressive environments. DDP coordinates emergency support for individuals and organizations such as human rights defenders, journalists, civil society activists, and bloggers. The DDP affirm to have "a people-centered approach, focusing on our core values of transparency, human rights, inclusivity & diversity, equality, confidentiality, and freedom".

The DDP has three different types of funding that address urgent emergency situations, as well as longer-term grants focused on building capacity within an organization. Furthermore, DDP coordinates a Digital Integrity Fellowship where organizations receive personalized digital security and privacy trainings, and a Rapid Response Network program.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression - Support Centres

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian organization founded in 1981 that works to defend and protect the right to free expression in Canada and around the world.

CJFE carries out monitoring, defence and reporting activities on free expression and access to information in Canada and abroad. Rooted in the field of journalism, CJFE promotes a free media as essential to a fair and open society.

CJFE runs a programme called Journalists in distress: securing your digital life , a platform the includes information on how to protect yourself while browsing the web, while using instant messaging and social media, how to secure your passwords and e-mail, and other privacy and security issues. The guide also includes information for getting help from supportive organisations and how to mitigate risks and protect yourself during your search for help. A section is dedicated on precautions to prevent governments, authorities, intelligence or security agents as well as other potential threats to control and easily access your data and devices.

ProtectDefenders.eu - Support Centres

Launched in 2015, ProtectDefenders.eu is the European Union Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) mechanism which supports individuals and local actors who strive to promote and defend human rights worldwide. The mechanism is implemented by a Consortium of twelve international organisations active in the field of Human Rights.

Its services comprise:

• Emergency support for HRDs at risk 
• Support to local HRD organisations
• Temporary relocation of HRDs at risk
• Training and information to HRDs at risk
• Monitoring and advocacy

HOTLINE: +353 (0) 1 21 00 489

Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) - Support Centres

The Digital Freedom Fund supports Europe’s digital rights litigators – NGOs, pro bono lawyers and sometimes regular litigators – enabling them to become more effective in their work. They do this in a number of ways:

- through grants to support the legal, advocacy, research, and other costs involved in litigation;

- through facilitating digital rights actors’ access to pro-bono legal support.

DFF is supported by Open Society Foundations, Adessium Foundation, Omidyar Network, Renewable Freedom Foundation and the Democracy and Media Foundation.

E-mail: grants@digitalfreedomfund.org

Print-Digital Council of the Slovak Republic (TR SR) - Support Centres

The Print-Digital Council (former Press Council) of the Slovak Republic (TR SR) is the executive body of the Association for the Protection of journalistic ethics in the Slovak republic (AONE ). It addresses complaints about the possible violation of journalistic ethics, as well as motions concerning restraining the journalists’ access to information.

Association of BH Journalists (BH Novinari) - Support Centres

Association of BH Journalists (BH Novinari) is a non-political and non-profit journalist association based in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. It provides free legal and advocacy support to Bosnian editors, staff or freelance journalists and other media outlets.

Contact persons at its Free Media Help Line are Borka Rudić, borka.rudic@bhnovinari.ba, + 387 33 255 602 and Una Telegrafčić, una.telegrafcic@bhnovinari.ba, + 387 33 223 818

Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights (CILD) - Support Centres

Founded in 2014, the Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights (Coalizione Italiana Libertà e Diritti Civili, CILD) is a network of civil society organizations that protects and expands the rights and liberties of all, through a combination of advocacy, public education and legal action.

CILD also coordinates a Centre for Legal Action that operates as a clearing-house, facilitating the interactions between law firms and non-profit associations in need of legal assistance. 

- Legal information: CILD offers information support, in some remote cases, for anyone who asks for help in the field of civil liberties. A sort of emergency legal aid, for a concrete action orientation of protection.

- Strategic Litigation: When the only communication and lobbying is not enough, CILD supports the judgment actions with strategic litigation, a specific legal action capable of activating a regulatory change, promote awareness and debate around a theme, mobilizing public opinion, to push policy makers to overcome regulations that violate the fundamental rights of individuals.

- Pro bono legal advice: CILD arranges a free legal aid service, as an interface between civil society organizations and lawyers. Requests may concern: legal opinions, statutory acts, comparative research or case law, legal and, in exceptional cases, translations, initiation of litigation.

- Access to information: CILD monitors the implementation of the Italian FOIA

E-mail: legal@cild.eu

Russian Union of Journalists - Support Centres

The Russian Union of Journalists (Союз журналистов России) is the union representing journalists and other media workers across Russia. The Russian Union of Journalists, which is affiliated to the International Federation of Journalists, runs a defence hotline to support members who are attacked for doing their jobs. Contacts to get in touch with the union: ruj@ruj.ru and +7 (495) 637-51-01

Mass Media Defence Centre - Support Centres

The Mass Media Defence Centre is an NGO working in the field of media rights protection and the promotion of freedom of expression standards in Russia. Its primary purpose is to protect the rights of media outlets and the legal protection of journalists, also helping them to find pro bono lawyers and providing legal advice.

ECPMF Alarm Centre for Female Journalists under Threat - Support Centres

On 8 March 2016, the ECPMF has created a special Women’s Reporting Point to address and raise awareness on increasing threats against female journalists.

Threats can be reported via encrypted messaging. The secure emails will only be opened by female staff at ECPMF headquarters and their contents will remain confidential. To provide appropriate legal assistance and solidarity to female journalists or media workers who report their cases, ECPMF is partnering with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Italian branch FNSI.

The rationale of this support measure stems from the consideration that female journalists are not only attacked because of their profession, they are also threatened because they are women, as pointed out also by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. Gender-based threats, such as sexual and abusive comments, threats of rape or publishing pictures and phone numbers on sex and dating websites target women more often than men.  

ECPMF encourages all women to report attacks in order to seek help, but also to make the dimension of attacks against journalists visible: the reported cases will be collected in a database – with details of the woman’s identity removed in order to protect her – as basis of an analysis to show the scale of the problem across Europe.