MFRR Summit - Safeguarding journalism, defending democracy - Reports

This year’s MFRR Summit feeds into EU Democracy Shield policy discussions and highlights journalism as vital democratic infrastructure. Drawing on MFRR’s monitoring, missions, and policy work, the event will explore five key pillars of media resilience: economic viability, safety, legal protection, AI governance, and implementation of safeguards

Joint Statement on the Draft Penal Code and Its Implications for Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression in Albania - Article

OBCT joins the SafeJournalists Network, partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), and civil society organizations in Albania in expressing concern regarding the proposed amendments to the Penal Code which risk posing direct threats to media freedom, the safety of journalists, and the fundamental right to freedom of expression

Viorica Tătaru and Andrei Captarenco, journalism "Beyond the Dniester" - Article

Viorica Tătaru and Andrei Captarenco, in their reports, describe the lives of Moldovans beyond the Dniester. In this interview, they explain the difficulties in describing daily life in a country divided between the territory controlled by Chișinău and that under the separatist government
By Francesco Brusa

Fist published by OBCT, also available in ITA

Georgia: Ahead of verdict, press freedom groups renew call for Mzia Amaglobeli’s release - Article

OBCT joins free expression organisations in urging the Georgian Dream authorities to drop the criminal charges against Mzia Amaglobeli and to ensure her immediate release

EU Rule of Law Report: A welcome but insufficient response to deteriorating media freedom - Article

OBCT joins MFRR partners in responding to the publication of the European Commission's 2025 Rule of Law Report, urging the EU to strengthen its commitment to media freedom and the protection of independent journalism

Closure of Al Jazeera Balkans is a Major Blow to Media Freedom and Pluralism in the Region - Article

The SafeJournalists Network and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) platform express deep concern and solidarity with over 200 journalists and media workers affected by the sudden announcement of the closure of Al Jazeera Balkans after 14 years of continuous operation

Serbia: Media freedom continues to decline at alarming speed, EU must take action - Article

 OBCT joins free expression organisations in condemning the decline of media freedom in Serbia

Organisations across Europe take part in actions against SLAPPs as Greenpeace International brings a groundbreaking legal case - Article

OBCT joins free expression organisations for the European Day of Action against SLAPPs

Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef) - Support Centres

Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef) is a nonprofit initiative founded in November 2022 during COP27 by Equation Campaign. Its mission is to protect frontline climate defenders—activists, scientists, journalists, Indigenous leaders, parents, and students—who often face legal, financial, and political backlash for their work.

CliDef operates through a four-pronged strategy:

1. Providing legal advice and strategic planning to help individuals anticipate and respond to legal reprisals effectively;
2. Funding and supporting local lawyers and NGOs, since pro bono legal help is scarce in many regions; 
3. Coordinating legal support, matching defenders with the right attorneys and staying involved throughout cases;
4. Building a global legal network, expanding the pool of expertise—ranging from tax and defamation to criminal defense—to strengthen climate defenders worldwide.

CliDef ensures that those fighting for climate justice are not legally outgunned by fossil-fuel interests or government power, enabling them to continue their vital work.

What’s in a joke? Assessing humor in free speech jurisprudence - Reports

Primarily aimed at legal professionals, yet also valuable to policymakers or advocacy groups, this toolkit is conceived to provide orientation in assessing humour in the context of free speech adjudication, exploring the specific challenges it poses, the legal safeguards protecting humour and satire as well as the limitations of their exercise, to present concrete interpretative tools in free speech cases, while also considering the relevant intersections with intellectual property law