Media Development Center (North Macedonia) - Support Centres

The Media Development Center (MDC) is a Skopje-based NGO, providing free legal and advocacy support to North Macedonian staff journalists, editors and media outlets. Person to be contacted for help is Dejan Georgievski (dejan@mdc.org.mk or +38978483102).

impressum - Support Centres

impressum - die Schweizer Journalistinnen / Journalisten is the biggest journalists association in Switzerland.  

impressum provides its members with legal and financial support.

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union - Support Centres

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) is an NGO operating in Hungary. TASZ provides legal and advocacy support to staff and freelance journalists, editors, media outlets, civic journalists or bloggers, NGOs, and journalist associations on a pro-bono fee basis. The responsible person is Dalma Dojcsák, contactable via email ddalma@tasz.hu or phone +3612790046.

Association des Journalistes Professionels (Belgium) - Support Centres

Association des Journalistes Professionels (AVBB/AGJP) is a Belgian journalist association based in Brussels. AVBB provides free legal support to associated members.

ARTICLE 19 - Support Centres

ARTICLE 19 is an international NGO based in London and operating all over Europe. Article 19 offers free legal advice and advocacy support for Staff journalists, editors, media outlets, civic journalists/bloggers, freelance journalists, NGOs, and/or journalist associations.

E-mail: info@article19.org

Share Foundation (Serbia) - Support Centres

The Share Foundation is an international NGO based in Belgrade (Serbia). SHARE Defense is part of the Share Foundation and its goal is to fight for the public interest concerning digital rights within the fields of privacy, free speech, government transparency and efficiency, surveillance and human rights.

Share Foundation provides low cost legal and advocacy support to staff journalists, editors, media outlets, bloggers, freelance journalists, NGOs and journalist associations in Serbia.

SHARE Defense staff includes lawyers, analysts, journalists and technicians with an expertise in the protection of digital rights.

Alliance of Lawyers for Human Rights - Support Centres

Established in 2009, the Alliance of Lawyers for Human Rights (Alliance des Avocats pour les droits de l'homme, AADH) is a worldwide organization providing legal support to organizations dedicated to the protection of human and environmental rights, including NGOs that provide legal support for journalist associations. Furthermore, in the case of Human Rights violations, the AADH provides legal information in order to structure and ensure the victim’s defense, as well as legal representation before the courts.

Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) - Support Centres

Media Defence (also known as MLDI) provides legal defence to independent media, journalists and bloggers around the world who are under threat for their reporting. MLDI does this by administering an emergency defence fund, helping journalists, bloggers and independent media pay legal fees, and provides legal expertise to the lawyer(s) defending a case. 

MLDI also engages in strategic litigation to challenge repressive laws and expand the space for media freedom. Through this, it seeks to advance respect for international law and norms on the right to freedom of expression. MLDI submits cases to domestic courts and international tribunals and intervenes in cases already under way, as well as supporting national lawyers to do the same.

In countries where the threat of legal action is high and constant, MLDI provides financial support and legal expertise to national organisations that provide legal defence services to journalists.

MLDI also runs training and networking programmes for lawyers in the fields of media law and human rights. 

E-mail: info@mediadefence.org

Observatory of Media Freedom (Poland) - Support Centres

'The Observatory of Media Freedom in Poland' is a legal program founded by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) in 2008 and operates in Poland. Its focus is on the protection related to freedom of expression in traditional media as well as on the Internet. 

The program provides legal aid concerning inter alia issues such as criminal defamation, press law offences, protection of journalistic sources of information, the liability of the Internet service providers etc. During court proceedings, the ‘Observatory’ can as well arrange pro bono legal assistance for journalists who cannot afford to pay for regular legal aid.

Ossigeno per l'Informazione - Support Centres

Ossigeno per l'Informazione grants free legal assistance for journalists to help them resist the pressure of intimidation, thanks to the cooperation with the London-based Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI).

The Legal Office of Ossigeno is coordinated by the lawyer Andrea Di Pietro, an expert in information and communication law and legal consultant to Ossigeno per l’Informazione.

E-mail: sportellolegaleossigeno@gmail.com