Justice for Journalists Foundation is a London-based charity (Registered Charity Number 1201812) whose mission is to fight impunity for attacks against media. Based in London, its main goal is to protect journalists from the abuse of their right to freedom of expression, increase public awareness about attacks on media workers and provide journalists with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect themselves from professional risks.
The Charity collaborates with international NGOs, journalists, experts, academia, think-tanks, educational and research organisations. Among the partners of Justice for Journalists are Reporters Without Borders, the Foreign Policy Centre, Article 19, Charter 97, ACOS Alliance and Rory Peck Trust. About us - Justice for Journalists The Charity is one of the 15 partner organisations of the Council of Europe's Safety of Journalists Platform.Safety of Journalists Program
In 2024, the Charity became a member of the Global Forum for Media Development, an international network of over 200 journalism support and media development organisations working across more than 70 countries. The Charity is a member of the CASE CoalitionCASE and UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition.Welcome - UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition The Charity is an observer of the National Committee for the Safety of JournalistsNational Committee for the Safety of Journalists - GOV.UK in the UK. The Charity is also a signatory of the ACOS Alliance,ACOS Signatories a unique global coalition of 150+ news organizations, journalist associations and press freedom NGOs working together to champion safe and responsible journalism practices.
In 2025, the foundation was listed as an undesirable organization in Russia.
Activities The Charity's activities consist of three main areas, as stated on its website.
Media risk mappingRisk Map - Justice for Journalists via monitoring, analysing and publicising violence and abuse against media workers; Training and education via online and offline media safety trainings in Orkhan Dzhemal Media Safety Academy, Russian-language safety training for professional journalists, citizen journalists, and bloggers. Raising public awareness about the realities of media work worldwide via visual and print materials, conferences, roundtables, and seminars in support of such initiatives and activities conducted by other charitable organisations involved in the protection of the right to free expression.
Investigative Grants Programme
Between January 2019 and September 2024, the Justice for Journalists Foundation ran an investigative grant programme, which over the five years has supported over 80 media outlets, independent journalists, and media freedom NGOs from 40 countries. Currently, Justice for Journalists Foundation is focused on its other activities to investigate violence and abuse against media workers.
In 2019, thanks to the support from the Foundation's grant program, the Kyiv Post media outlet published a special project called Dying for Truth, a series of investigative articles about violence against journalists in Ukraine.Dying for truth - KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice
In 2019, the Charity has supported two investigations into the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia — the book Murder on the Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia? by Manuel Delia, Carlo Bonini, and John SweenyBook launch: "Murder on the Malta Express. Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia?" - Justice for Journalists and the comprehensive joint report titled Justice delayed: the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Malta's deteriorating press freedom climate by Reporters Without Borders and independent Maltese outlet The Shift News. The book Murder on the Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia? won the National Book Council award for Literary non-fiction in Maltese and English.Murder on the Malta Express wins the National Book Prize - Manuel Delia
In September 2020, the Charity supported the investigation into the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet by the independent media outlet Zaborona.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Justice for Journalists Foundation contributed significant resources towards exploring of how SLAPP is used to halt media workers' investigative efforts. One of the grant recipients, the Foreign Policy Centre, published two Unsafe for Scrutiny reports.Unsafe for Scrutiny: Examining the pressures faced by journalists uncovering financial crime and corruption around the world - The Foreign Policy CenterUnsafe for Scrutiny: How the misuse of the UK's financial and legal systems to facilitate corruption undermines the freedom and safety of investigative journalists around the world - The Foreign Policy Center As part of its work under the Unsafe for Scrutiny project, the Foreign Policy Centre, along with 21 other organizations, including the Justice for Journalists Foundation, has published a joint policy paper on countering legal intimidation and SLAPP in the UK. The policy paper briefly outlines the common hallmarks of legal intimidation and SLAPPs in the UK context, as well as five key principles for mitigating this threat, with a view to it forming a starting point for legislative and regulatory initiatives to address this issue in the UK.Countering legal intimidation and SLAPPs in the UK - Justice for Journalists In partnership with the Foreign Policy Centre and International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Charity organised three Anti-SLAPP Conferences in London, UK which brought together dozens of experts from across the globe to examine the impact SLAPPs has on journalists, media freedom and wider society. Similar conferences were supported by the Charity in Georgia, Malta, Ireland and in Scotland. The Charity is also a member of the CASE CoalitionCASE and UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition.Welcome - UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition
In 2020, the Charity supported the investigation into the murder of Somali journalists that has been quoted by various media outlets. After the release of the investigation, Somalia's federal authorities said they would open a full probe into the criminals and officials suspected to have committed crimes against journalists including dozens of murder cases of journalists in the Horn of African country since 1992.
In 2020, the Charity supported monitoring of court cases involving media outlets and journalists in Armenia that has been conducted by Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression. Findings of the report were used by the United States Department of State in the report on human right practices in Armenia.Armenia - United States Department of State
In 2021, the Charity has supported four-part series investigation into the unresolved killing of three Nigerian journalists having been on assignments between 2019 and 2020. Nigerian investigative journalist Patrick Egwu looked into these murders, those behind them, and the growing calls for justice by families of victims and press freedom groups.
In 2022, Channel 4 commissioned a documentary Nazanin by filmmaker and journalist Darius Bazargan. The film supported by the Justice for Journalists Foundation grant gives exclusive access into one of the biggest international news stories and follows the life of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband Richard and his family as he campaigned to bring his wife Nazanin home from detention in Iran.
In 2022, with the help of the Charity, the Novaya Gazeta. Europe released a documentary titled THIS MESSAGE (MATERIAL) CREATED AND DISTRIBUTED that reveals the stories of journalists who continue to do their professional work in Russia, where independent journalism is almost prohibited, and all legal protection is destroyed.
In 2022, the Charity supported the release of the podcast Pig IronPig Iron - Tortoise by Tortoise where journalist Basia Cummings investigates Christopher Allen's death on a distant frontline in South Sudan. In 2024, the podcast has been sold to BBC Sounds. In 2023, the Pig Iron won the British Podcast Awards in the Documentary category.
In 2022, the Charity supported an investigative report by The SentryUndercover Activities - The Sentry which exposed how South Sudan's National Security Service, a highly militarised agency operating under the supervision of President Salva Kiir, has cemented control over the country and its various institutions, including the independent media.
In 2023, the Charity supported the documentary Of Caravan and The Dogs by filmmaker Askold Kurov and documentary Black Snow,Black Snow directed by American journalist and filmmaker Alina Simone and produced by Kirstine Barfod. The documentary Black Snow has been nominated. for the Best Documentary at the 47th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.
Also that year, the Charity supported the investigation of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) into the covert tracking of journalists in Central and South-East Europe.Surveillance states | Balkan Insight BIRN;s survey of journalists in 15 countries who have been put under surveillance by intelligence services, criminal groups or private companies over the past few decades reveal how the monitoring of media workers remains a significant issue in Central and South-East Europe.
In 2024, the Charity supported the MLSA report In the Shadow of Two Palaces: Conversations with Exiled Journalists from Turkey and Russia.In the Shadow of Two Palaces: Conversations with exiled journalists from Turkey and Russia The report features narratives and interviews with 11 journalists who were forced to leave their homes in Turkey and Russia due to increasing pressures on free media. In 2022, the Foundation also supported another MLSA project into SLAPP cases in Turkey.
In 2024, during the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, FLIP and Media Defence hosted the side event showing the documentary Recent surveillance cases in Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico, supported by the Charity's Investigative Grant Programme.Recent surveillance cases in Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico -- International Journalism
Media Risk Map and Research
The Media Risk Map project is a daily monitoring and categorization of attacks on journalists, bloggers and media workers. It currently monitors attacks in 12 post-Soviet countries (excluding the Baltic states). Data on attacks are available from 2017 to the present day in English. The data from the Media Risk Map is constantly used for public presentations and academic purposes. The Charity works together with various universities in the UK, including University of Sheffield, University of Liverpool and their initiative in co-operation with UNESCO Safety of JournalistsSafety of Journalists Program and others.
The Foundation published reports on attacks against journalists, bloggers and media workers in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine for 2017-2020.Reports - Justice for Journalists The reports were cited by various media outlets, such as Novaya Gazeta, RTVI, Deutsche Welle, and Meduza.
In May 2019, the Justice for Journalists Foundation prepared a project with the NGO Index on Censorship to monitor attacks and media rights violations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.Disease control? - Index on Censorship
As part of the Risk Map project, the Justice for Journalists Foundation has been regularly monitoring attacks against journalists and bloggers in Central Asia.
As part of the Council of Europe's Safety of Journalists Platform, the Justice for Journalists Foundation contributes the data it collects for the Media Risk Map to the AlertsAlerts| Safety of journalists platform and participates in the writing of yearly reports and statements.