Press Freedom in Bangladesh: Lessons from the Digital Security Act – Bengali
Until its repeal in 2023, Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act was used against journalists for their reporting and criticism online. Now, draft amendments to Bangladesh’s Cyber Security Act would bring back some of the same provisions. The amendments would reintroduce criminal defamation and criminalise “rumour” and “misinformation” online, exposing journalists to prison sentences of up to…
A TrialWatch Spotlight: Five Issues from the Trial – Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha
Pakistani human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha have spent their careers defending others. Now, they are defending themselves. The couple were each sentenced to 17 years in prison over social media posts critical of the state. Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch Programme monitored 49 days of hearings across their five-month trial and…
CFJ Fellowship Application
Fairness Report: Abzas Media
CFJ’s TrialWatch team has released a new report on the criminal proceedings against seven journalists and media workers from, or allegedly from, Abzas Media, an independent Azerbaijani outlet known for reporting on alleged government corruption. Among them are editors, journalists and an economist whose reporting examined corruption and government accountability. They were sentenced to between…
Karen Kaiser
Karen is director of access to justice, overseeing the work of the Institute that creates tools to harness AI to expand access to justice for women and journalists globally, making it easier for vulnerable communities to access free legal support. Karen has been a leading global freedom of expression advocate for 25 years, championing press…
Megan Harris
Megan Harris is Head of Operations at the Clooney Foundation for Justice, where she oversees all back-office functions. She brings a wealth of experience from the financial services and technology sectors, with a track record in process improvement, cost-efficiency and operational excellence, and a particular interest in data-led growth and decision-making. In a previous role,…
Fairness Report II: Tofig Yagublu
A Clooney Foundation for Justice TrialWatch Fairness Report finds the prosecution and 2025 conviction of journalist and opposition leader Tofig Yagublu to be consistent with a broader pattern of pressure on government critics in Azerbaijan. The report concludes that the proceedings against Yagublu appear to have been used to hinder and deter his professional activities.
Clooney Foundation for Justice Launches Justice Champion Program with Quinn Emanuel as Inaugural Partner
Clooney Foundation for Justice Announces 2026 Waging Justice for Women Fellows
Vitumbiko Phiri
Vitumbiko Phiri is a Malawian lawyer serving her Waging Justice for Women Fellowship with the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA). She holds an Upper Second-Class Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from the University of Malawi and has a strong passion for criminal justice and human rights; more specifically women and children’s…
Fortunate Chilenje
Fortunate Chilenje is a human rights lawyer from Zimbabwe serving her fellowship at the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) in Tanzania. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Great Zimbabwe University and a Master of Laws in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria, graduating with distinction. She received the Nelson…
Yvonne Kiprop
Yvonne Kiprop is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a dedicated member of FIDA-Kenya, currently serving her fellowship at the Katiba Institute. Her professional journey is underpinned by a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi and a Post-Graduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law. Building on this academic…
Siphokazi Mlindazwe
Siphokazi Mlindazwe is a South African attorney serving her fellowship with the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa, where she is placed within the Women’s Socio-Economic Rights Department. Her commitment to justice is rooted in her lived experience as a Black woman who has seen first-hand how gendered and structural inequality shape everyday life. She…
Rolanda Mariama Kondeh
Rolanda Mariama Kondeh is a Sierra Leonean lawyer serving her fellowship with AdvocAid. She earned her Bachelor of Laws from Fourah Bay College and completed her professional training at the Sierra Leone Law School before being called to the Sierra Leone Bar in 2023. From the onset of her legal career, she has centered her…
Fatou Mbenga
Fatou Mbenga is serving her fellowship with the Female Lawyers Association-Gambia (FLAG). Her expertise lies in the litigation of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Working as a State Counsel at the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Justice, she managed criminal prosecutions on behalf of the State for SGBV survivors and served the Ministry’s SGBV…