Civil Rights Defenders - Stakeholders

An Expert Organisation for Human Rights. CRD partners with and supports human rights defenders who work in some of the world’s most repressive regions on four continents.

Through advocacy, litigation, and public campaigns, CRD advances people’s rights globally. The organisation also acts as Sweden’s watchdog civil rights group.

Every year, CRD has The Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award, an award for outstanding work in defence of civil and political rights, to recognise a prominent human rights defender who, despite the risk to their own safety, continues the struggle for civil and political rights.
The award highlights the situation of human rights defenders at risk. It enhances their human rights work by providing international recognition and support to the organisation represented by the award recipient. The award recipient is a person who carries out their work without the use of violence and within an independent human rights organisation or network.

Among the support activities, there are security training, emergency support, expertise, organisational development, and long-term financial support.

CRD also brings together its partners so they can exchange experiences, as well as learn from and inspire each other.

MFRR calls on EU countries to protect Hungarian Journalists in Europe from state monitoring - Article

The EU Ministries of Foreign Affairs haven't answered to the letter of concern sent on 25 September, while the situation in Hungary is getting worse

North Macedonia: MFRR partners express concern over recent attacks on journalists and media workers - Article

Six alerts regarding North Macedonia have been registered through the Mapping Media Freedom project since the launch of the MFRR in March 2020. In a letter to Prime Minister Zaev, MFRR partners highlight that attacks on journalists and media workers remain an acute problem, undermining press freedom in the country

Hungary: new attempts of the government to control journalists - Article

The International Press Institute (IPI) expressed serious concern over reports that the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested its embassies in EU countries to deliver information about the activities of Hungarian journalists abroad

Greece: journalists are denied access to the Moria camp - Article

The Greek authorities are undermining press freedom and threatening the public’s right to know by restricting access for media workers to sites where refugees and asylum seekers are held following the fire that destroyed the Moria camp

Call for whistleblower Jonathan Taylor to be protected - Article

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, media protection, human rights, transparency and whistleblowing support organisations, alongside international jurists call on Monaco to immediately withdraw the arrest warrant that led to SBM Offshore whistleblower Jonathan Taylor being arrested in Dubrovnik airport

SLAPP: an op-ed by Jessica Ní Mhainín on Euractiv - Article

The Senior Policy Research and Advocacy Officer at Index on Censorship gives an updated overview about strategic lawsuits against public participation and the present need to have an anti-SLAPP legislation at EU level

Serbia: no more attacks and threats to journalists covering protests - Article

Alarmed by the increasing violence that police uses against reporters and media workers, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) ask Nebojša Stefanović, Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, to ensure all police officers and ministry personnel do not attack journalists, but protect them from other threats

Bulgaria: the end of a legal harassment - Article

On 28 June the independent publisher and businessman Ivo Prokopiev was finally acquitted, thus confirming that the charges against him can be considered retaliatory and intended to stifle investigative reporting. The Media Freedom Rapid Response partners are relieved but ask to stop all further legal harassment against him and Economedia. Here the statement that was issued before the trial

Montenegro: retrial of investigative journalist Jovo Martinović - Article

The MFRR partners call on Montenegro authorities to acquit the investigative journalist and drop all charges against Martinović, a specialist in covering organised crime for leading international media, who was convicted to an 18-month prison sentence by the High Court of Montenegro, on 15 January 2019 despite overwhelming evidence that his only links with organised crime were those of a reporter. After the Appeal Court overturned the verdict, on Monday 6th July the retrial continues