Daphne: Inspiring an Anti-SLAPP movement across Europe

When Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in October 2017, she had 47 open libel cases against her, highlighting the pressure of legal threats against investigative journalists. In the five years since, movements have sprung up across Europe to tackle SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) leading to the creation of an EU Anti-SLAPP Directive and a commitment from the UK government to bring in legislative reform.

This event will explore the rise of these anti-SLAPP movements - including CASE and UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition - the impact of SLAPPs on those subject to them as well as the potential cost to our societies if we do not defend against them.

Chair: Ruth Smeeth, CEO of Index on Censorship

Speakers:

• Clare Rewcastle Brown, Investigative journalist and founder of the Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak, subject to SLAPP cases both in the UK and Malaysia related to her reporting that uncovered the 1MDB scandal.

• Caroline Kean, Media Defence Lawyer and Founding Partner of law firm Wiggin, acted for HarperCollins in the cases brought against the publisher and their authors the journalists Catherine Belton and Tom Burgis.

• Susan Coughtrie, Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy Centre, co-chair of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition and lead author of the report ‘London Calling’: The issue of legal intimidation and SLAPPs against media emanating from the United Kingdom.

• Member of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family.

Doors open at 6:30pm, event starts at 7pm. Event is in person and also available online.

If you join us in person, you’re also welcome to visit the accompanying exhibition “__” in the Old Crypt of St John’s Waterloo (same venue).

If you join us online, the streaming link will be sent to you closer to the day of the event and it will start at 7pm.

Ticket proceeds are going towards The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and St John’s Waterloo.

At the time of her assassination in October 2017 Daphne had 47 open libel cases against her. This vast number highlighted the pressures of legal threats - SLAPPs - against investigative journalists and became a tipping point for public awareness on the issue.

In the five years since, movements to tackle SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) have sprung up and gathered momentum across Europe, leading to the drafting of an EU Anti-SLAPP Directive and a commitment from the UK Government to bring in legislative reform.

This event will explore the rise of these anti-SLAPP movements - including and the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition - the impact of SLAPPs on those subject to them, as well as the potential cost to our societies if we do not defend against their chilling intent.

Daphne's family, alongside their ongoing fight for justice for her M**der, are actively campaigning to bring in measures to end SLAPPs. , established in 2019, is coordinating the Coalition against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), whose members have been successfully advocating for the adoption of an EU Anti-SLAPP Directive.

Like Daphne, Clare Rewcastle Brown is an independent investigative journalist who has been uncovering financial crime and corruption and has been sued as a consequence. Between 2017-19, Rewcastle Brown was pursued through the London libel courts by a Malaysian politician in light of her reporting on the , which brought down the then Malaysian government and led to the arrest and imprisonment of the then Prime Minister. Although that case was eventually dropped, and a settlement made in her favour, she has continued to regularly experience libel threats in response to her reporting.

Over the course of a year and a half, Caroline Kean, founding partner of the law firm Wiggin, supported HarperCollins in fighting off a slew of cases brought against the publisher and two of its authors - Catherine Belton and Tom Burgis.

These high profile cases, together with the suit brought against Carole Cadwalladr by Arron Banks, which went to trial earlier this year, significantly increased public awareness of SLAPPs as well as Government interest to address it. The Ministry of Justice launched a consultation into SLAPPs, which ran from March to May 2022, culminating in the announcement by the Government that they intended to legislate to address the issues.

Cited in the Government's consultation and the subsequent response was the by the Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) of 63 investigative journalists working to uncover financial crime and corruption in 41 countries. The survey had found that legal threats were the greatest challenge to reporters. Moreover, the UK was a leading international source of those threats.

In light of these findings, the FPC's Deputy Director Susan Coughtrie, together with colleagues from established the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition in January 2021. Index was already a member of CASE. Both organisations, together with , have continued to co-chair the Coalition which has grown to include more than 20 leading media, free expression, anti-corruption, and transparency organisations. The aim of the Coalition is to provide support to those facing legal threats, highlight cases as well as push for reforms and other measures to address SLAPPs.

The FPC continues to research SLAPPs and the use of legal intimidation emanating from the UK. Read their latest report - ‘London Calling’: The issue of legal intimidation and SLAPPs against media emanating from the United Kingdom - .

The Foreign Policy Centre is an independent, non-partisan international affairs think tank based in the United Kingdom. Our mission is to inform both the British and global debate, seeking sustainable solutions for the world’s most pressing challenges. The FPC takes a global perspective, informed by the values of democracy, human rights, good governance and conflict resolution. To deliver our mission the FPC publishes independent research, holds events and engages with key decision makers and the wider public. We provide an open and accessible space for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience, so that the voices of experts and advocates can be heard and acted upon.

FPC has been researching SLAPPs through its Unsafe for Scrutiny project since July 2020, and the FPC’s Deputy Director co-founded the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition in January 2021. Together with its partner the Justice for Journalists Foundation, FPC organised the first UK Anti-SLAPP Conference in November 2021, with the second edition to be held on 28-29th November 2022 on the theme ‘Spotlighting Solutions’.

Index on Censorship is a non-profit organisation that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech.

Index on Censorship is a non-profit organisation that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech. We believe that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution. Index’s aim is to raise awareness about threats to free expression and the value of free speech as the first step to tackling censorship.

Index is actively working to document and address the issue of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). Index is a co-founding member of the UK anti-SLAPPs coalition and is also part of the Coalition against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE). We work to ensure that critical voices reporting in the public interest are not silenced by strategic lawsuits.

The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation’s primary purpose is to ensure the public interest of full justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and guardianship of her work. The Foundation uses all legal means possible to ensure investigations meet international standards, working with Maltese and international organisations to monitor the investigations and taking corrective action where necessary, and holding state agents to account for their responsibility and failure to protect.

It supports efforts to achieve full justice in the targeted killings of journalists, promotes a culture of public interest litigation to enable access to justice, and supports the growth and resilience of independent investigative journalists.

St John’s Waterloo, the church on the roundabout at Waterloo, has stood in the heart of its local community for 200 years. It was rebuilt for the Festival of Britain in 1951, served as a day centre for Cardboard City’s homeless up to the 1990s, and has been recently refurbished into an accessible and contemporary centre for arts and the community.

Committed to being here for you, today St John’s is also known as one of the most inclusive, LGBTI+ churches in London. It is also a local leader in campaigning for the environment and fighting climate change.

Through its sister charity, The Bridge At Waterloo, St John’s runs work training, therapy and gardening projects for homeless and vulnerable people in Lambeth. It also produces a year-round programme of arts and culture, including the annual Waterloo Festival, and is home to Southbank Sinfonia.

Getting to St John’s Waterloo

St John’s Waterloo is accessible by bus, tube or train; the nearest station is Waterloo Station. Parking is available in Exton Street on pay bays, Monday to Friday from 8.30am till 6.30pm and Saturday 8.30am till 1.30pm at £5.40 per hour. Payment must be made by phone or app, details can be found on signs along Exton Street. After 6.30pm (1pm on Saturday) parking is free within the bays and on single yellow lines. There are no disabled bays along Exton Street.

Parking is also available in car parks in York Road and Cornwall Road, details for both can be found online.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

St John’s Church, Waterloo, 73 Waterloo Road, London, United Kingdom