The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) joins the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition and a cross-industry "Day of Action" to demand urgent legislative protections against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
SLAPPs are abusive legal threats that are not intended to win on merit, but rather to exhaust the financial resources, time, and mental health of journalists and newsrooms.
As the U.K. government prepares for the upcoming King’s Speech, which sets out the government’s next legislative agenda, the Coalition and its partners are calling for a clear, comprehensive commitment to include universal anti-SLAPP provisions.
OCCRP Co-Founder Paul Radu experienced the devastating impact of these tactics. In 2020, Radu successfully concluded a grueling two-year legal battle in the U.K. courts. He was sued for defamation by an Azerbaijani politician following OCCRP’s investigation into the "Azerbaijani Laundromat," a multi-billion dollar money-laundering scheme.
While the case ended in a positive outcome, the cost was immense in time and effort. Radu was forced to navigate complex disclosure obligations and a mountain of legal correspondence designed to distract from the criminality he uncovered. His case serves as a reminder that even "successful" defenses against SLAPPs can drain the very resources necessary for investigative work.
The U.K. is a SLAPP haven for two main reasons: the crushing cost of mounting a defense and the fact that in defamation cases — the primary tool for these lawsuits — the burden of proof is reversed, forcing journalists to prove their reporting is substantially true.
"SLAPPs are a tax on the truth," said Radu. "No journalist should have to risk their livelihood just to report in the public interest. By supporting this Day of Action and the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, we want to make it so the wealthy and powerful can no longer use the British legal system as a tool for censorship."
Members of the OCCRP network currently face around 100 lawsuits across the globe. In many of the cases, the plaintiff is not arguing that the information in the story is wrong but rather that the truth makes them look corrupt or like members of organized crime.
“Defamation is defined as publishing information that is both wrong and harmful,” said OCCRP Publisher and Co-Founder Drew Sullivan. “But SLAPP lawsuits are seldom about facts but rather about what they think we might be implying. Courts need to be more aggressive in throwing these cases out.”
The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition’s “Day of Action,” follows up on the open letter OCCRP and 160+ others co-signed to the British Prime Minister sent in January. For more information, visit the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition website or contact [email protected]