Galina Arapova is director and senior media lawyer of the NGO Mass Media Defence Centre, working in the field of media rights protection and the promotion of freedom of expression standards in Russia. She is also a trustee of the international human rights organization ARTICLE 19 (Global Campaign for Free expression); a member of the International Media Lawyers Association; chair of the Public Council of Voronezh Regional Police Department; and a member of Voronezh City public Chamber. Galina Arapova has a law degree, and undertook post graduate studies at the Institute of the World Economy and International Relations (Russian Academy of Sciences). She is a graduate of the European Law Institute (Birmingham, UK) in human rights law where she completed a practice programme conducted in cooperation with the Council of Europe. She has worked in the field of freedom of expression and freedom of information since 1995. Galina Arapova is a practising media lawyer with strong experience in defending media in defamation and privacy cases and other media related issues. She is a Member of the UNESCO chair on Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Rights at the Institute of International Law and Economics (Moscow, Russian Federation). Galina Arapova is author of over 50 publications on Russian media law and international standards in the field of freedom of expression, freedom of information, defamation, privacy, and others. She has taken a number of cases to the European Court of Human Rights, mainly regarding violation of Article 10 of the European Convention. She has wide experience of work as a lecturer and trainer in Russia, CIS countries and abroad, providing training on a range of legal issues related to defamation, freedom of expression, freedom of information, Article 10 of ECHR case law to practicing journalists, media lawyers, barristers and judges.