{ "title": "Incidents in Asia", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=asia", "filters": { "continent": "asia" }, "sort": "date", "count": 26, "page": 1, "pages": 1, "per_page": 50, "facets": { "country": [ { "value": "IN", "label": "India", "count": 5 }, { "value": "TR", "label": "Türkiye", "count": 3 }, { "value": "MM", "label": "Myanmar", "count": 3 }, { "value": "IL", "label": "Israel", "count": 2 }, { "value": "HK", "label": "Hong Kong", "count": 2 }, { "value": "CN", "label": "China", "count": 2 }, { "value": "BD", "label": "Bangladesh", "count": 1 }, { "value": "PK", "label": "Pakistan", "count": 1 }, { "value": "GE", "label": "Georgia", "count": 1 }, { "value": "SA", "label": "Saudi Arabia", "count": 1 }, { "value": "KH", "label": "Cambodia", "count": 1 }, { "value": "IR", "label": "Iran", "count": 1 }, { "value": "MY", "label": "Malaysia", "count": 1 }, { "value": "KR", "label": "South Korea", "count": 1 }, { "value": "PH", "label": "Philippines", "count": 1 } ], "continent": [ { "value": "asia", "label": "Asia", "count": 26 } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "detention_and_violence", "label": "Detention and violence", "count": 11 }, { "value": "outlet_licensing", "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets", "count": 7 }, { "value": "prior_restraint", "label": "Prior restraint", "count": 6 }, { "value": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "label": "Expulsion and visa denial", "count": 5 }, { "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "label": "Insult and defamation laws", "count": 3 }, { "value": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "label": "Surveillance and subpoenas", "count": 3 }, { "value": "disinformation_labeling", "label": "Official labels", "count": 3 }, { "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "label": "Funding and ownership pressure", "count": 3 }, { "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "label": "Shutdowns and blocking", "count": 3 }, { "value": "access_ban", "label": "Access bans", "count": 2 }, { "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "label": "Secrets and espionage laws", "count": 2 }, { "value": "credential_control", "label": "Credential control", "count": 1 } ], "level": [ { "value": "national", "label": "National", "count": 25 }, { "value": "state_or_province", "label": "State or province", "count": 1 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "sustained", "label": "Sustained", "count": 9 }, { "value": "unknown", "label": "Unknown", "count": 6 }, { "value": "ongoing", "label": "Ongoing", "count": 5 }, { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 5 }, { "value": "upheld", "label": "Upheld by a court", "count": 1 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "narendra-modi", "label": "Narendra Modi", "count": 4 }, { "value": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "label": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "count": 3 }, { "value": "john-lee", "label": "John Lee", "count": 2 }, { "value": "muhammad-yunus", "label": "Muhammad Yunus", "count": 1 }, { "value": "shehbaz-sharif", "label": "Shehbaz Sharif", "count": 1 }, { "value": "irakli-kobakhidze", "label": "Irakli Kobakhidze", "count": 1 }, { "value": "min-aung-hlaing", "label": "Min Aung Hlaing", "count": 1 }, { "value": "xi-jinping", "label": "Xi Jinping", "count": 1 }, { "value": "king-salman", "label": "Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud", "count": 1 }, { "value": "aung-san-suu-kyi", "label": "Aung San Suu Kyi", "count": 1 }, { "value": "hun-sen", "label": "Hun Sen", "count": 1 }, { "value": "mahmoud-ahmadinejad", "label": "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad", "count": 1 }, { "value": "mahathir-mohamad", "label": "Mahathir Mohamad", "count": 1 }, { "value": "li-peng", "label": "Li Peng", "count": 1 }, { "value": "saw-maung", "label": "Saw Maung", "count": 1 }, { "value": "chun-doo-hwan", "label": "Chun Doo-hwan", "count": 1 }, { "value": "indira-gandhi", "label": "Indira Gandhi", "count": 1 }, { "value": "ferdinand-marcos", "label": "Ferdinand Marcos", "count": 1 }, { "value": "david-ben-gurion", "label": "David Ben-Gurion", "count": 1 } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 13 }, { "value": "2010s", "label": "2010s", "count": 5 }, { "value": "1980s", "label": "1980s", "count": 3 }, { "value": "1970s", "label": "1970s", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2000s", "label": "2000s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1990s", "label": "1990s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1940s", "label": "1940s", "count": 1 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1948", "label": "1948", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1972", "label": "1972", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1975", "label": "1975", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1980", "label": "1980", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1988", "label": "1988", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1989", "label": "1989", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1998", "label": "1998", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2009", "label": "2009", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2016", "label": "2016", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2017", "label": "2017", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2018", "label": "2018", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2019", "label": "2019", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2021", "label": "2021", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2024", "label": "2024", "count": 3 }, { "value": "2025", "label": "2025", "count": 4 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 2 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 26 } ] }, "results": [ { "slug": "2026-india-journalist-sentenced-adani-defamation", "title": "India: one-year prison sentence for the journalist Ravi Nair in a criminal defamation case, February 2026", "occurred_on": "2026-02-10", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": "2026-02-10", "outcome_note": "Sentenced on 2026-02-10; no appeal or ruling on appeal appears in the sources cited.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On February 10, 2026, a court in India sentenced the investigative journalist Ravi Nair to one year in prison and a fine of 5,000 rupees (about US$55) for criminal defamation, an offence under which a statement that damages someone's reputation can lead to a fine or prison sentence. The case concerned posts on the platform X between October 2020 and July 2021 and articles on Adani Watch, an Australian non-profit investigative site, that criticized the Adani Group, an Indian conglomerate. CIVICUS Monitor, which tracks civic freedoms by country, recorded the sentence among arrests, detentions and police summonses of Indian journalists in the same period.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-india-journalist-sentenced-adani-defamation" }, { "slug": "2026-israel-maintains-ban-on-foreign-press-access-to-gaza", "title": "Israel: ban on independent entry of foreign journalists into the Gaza Strip, 2023 to 2026", "occurred_on": "2026-01-07", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IL", "country_name": "Israel", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IL", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": null, "leader_name": null, "issue_of_the_day": "The war in Gaza, which began in October 2023.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2026-02-25", "outcome_note": "In effect as of CPJ's report of 2026-02-25; the government asked Israel's Supreme Court in January 2026 to keep the ban.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, the government of Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean coast between Israel and Egypt, independently; foreign correspondents have entered only on trips escorted by the Israeli military. On January 7, 2026, Al Jazeera reported that the Foreign Press Association, which represents journalists from international news organizations, had condemned the government's decision to keep the ban. The government had told Israel's Supreme Court that the ban should be maintained due to \"security reasons,\" according to Al Jazeera. On February 25, 2026, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that the ban was still in place.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-israel-maintains-ban-on-foreign-press-access-to-gaza" }, { "slug": "2025-hong-kong-convicts-jimmy-lai-under-national-security-law", "title": "China (Hong Kong): conviction and 20-year sentence of the media owner Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law, 2025 to 2026", "occurred_on": "2025-12-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HK", "country_name": "Hong Kong", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "HK", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "john-lee", "leader_name": "John Lee", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2026-02-08", "outcome_note": "Sentenced to 20 years in prison on 2026-02-08; no appeal is recorded in the sources cited.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On December 15, 2025, the High Court of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with its own courts, convicted Jimmy Lai, founder of the newspaper Apple Daily, on two counts of \"conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces\" under the National Security Law, which China's central government imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, and one count of \"conspiracy to publish seditious publications.\" On February 8, 2026, the court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison. Apple Daily shut down in June 2021 after its accounts were frozen and much of its top leadership was arrested. Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, called the charges \"bogus.\"", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-hong-kong-convicts-jimmy-lai-under-national-security-law" }, { "slug": "2025-turkiye-detains-and-deports-journalists-covering-protests", "title": "Türkiye: detention, injury and deportation of journalists covering protests, March 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-03-19", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "TR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "issue_of_the_day": "The detention of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, on March 19, 2025, and the protests that followed.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": "2025-04-02", "outcome_note": "CPJ's report of 2025-04-02 describes the restrictions as continuing; the outcomes for individual journalists are not recorded.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After the detention of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, on March 19, 2025, protests spread in Türkiye, and between March 19 and March 28, 2025, the authorities detained at least 13 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organization in New York. From March 21 to 23, 2025, at least 14 journalists were injured after being beaten or shot with rubber bullets by Istanbul police, and on March 27 police detained the BBC correspondent Mark Lowen and deported him. CPJ said on April 2, 2025 that the authorities \"have since arrested thousands of protesters and have moved aggressively to tamp down media coverage.\"", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-turkiye-detains-and-deports-journalists-covering-protests" }, { "slug": "2025-bangladesh-journalists-attacked-interim-government", "title": "Journalists beaten in Bangladesh in separate incidents as interim government drafts new cyber laws", "occurred_on": "2025-02-03", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BD", "country_name": "Bangladesh", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "BD", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "muhammad-yunus", "leader_name": "Muhammad Yunus", "issue_of_the_day": "The incidents occurred six months into the interim government that took power after Sheikh Hasina's government fell in August 2024, a period in which press-freedom groups said journalists faced both continued street violence and new draft cyber-security legislation.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "No arrests were reported in the incidents described, and the proposed cyber ordinances remained under review.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On a single day in February 2025, groups of men beat at least eight journalists in two separate incidents in rural Bangladesh while they investigated a medical-negligence tip and a land dispute; the incidents came as the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus drafted new cyber ordinances rights groups said could add legal risk on top of the physical one.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-bangladesh-journalists-attacked-interim-government" }, { "slug": "2025-pakistan-amends-peca-cybercrime-law", "title": "Pakistan amends cybercrime law to create new agency policing 'fake' online content", "occurred_on": "2025-01-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PK", "country_name": "Pakistan", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "PK", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "shehbaz-sharif", "leader_name": "Shehbaz Sharif", "issue_of_the_day": "The government said the amendment was needed to curb online disinformation, but journalists said the new offense's vague wording, covering content merely believed likely to cause \"fear, panic, disorder or unrest,\" gave authorities broad discretion over ordinary reporting.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The amendment remained law despite nationwide journalist protests and a Human Rights Watch call for its repeal.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Pakistan's parliament amended the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act to create a new Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority with power to block online content and a Social Media Protection Tribunal, and made spreading information deemed 'fake or false' punishable by up to three years in prison, prompting nationwide journalist protests.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-pakistan-amends-peca-cybercrime-law" }, { "slug": "2024-hong-kong-stand-news-editors-convicted-sedition", "title": "Hong Kong court convicts Stand News editors of sedition", "occurred_on": "2024-08-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HK", "country_name": "Hong Kong", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "HK", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "john-lee", "leader_name": "John Lee", "issue_of_the_day": "The prosecution centered on opinion pieces and interviews Stand News had published examining Hong Kong's 2019 protests and the 2020 National Security Law, coverage prosecutors said smeared the security law and law enforcement.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "2024-09-26", "outcome_note": "Both editors were sentenced in September 2024; no reversal of the convictions was reported.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Hong Kong court convicted former Stand News editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of conspiring to publish seditious material, under a colonial-era law, over articles the outlet had run before police raided its newsroom and it closed at the end of 2021.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-hong-kong-stand-news-editors-convicted-sedition" }, { "slug": "2024-georgia-foreign-influence-law", "title": "Georgia enacts 'foreign influence' law requiring media to register as foreign-backed", "occurred_on": "2024-05-28", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "GE", "country_name": "Georgia", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "GE", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "irakli-kobakhidze", "leader_name": "Irakli Kobakhidze", "issue_of_the_day": "The governing Georgian Dream party framed the law as protecting Georgian sovereignty against foreign-funded groups it accused of trying to organize unrest, at a time when the party also faced growing opposition ahead of Georgia's 2024 parliamentary election.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The law took effect despite mass protests and international criticism; the governing party did not withdraw it.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Georgia's parliament passed a law requiring media and civil-society groups that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad to register as organizations \"serving the interests of a foreign power,\" over mass street protests and international criticism that the label would be used to marginalize independent outlets.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-georgia-foreign-influence-law" }, { "slug": "2024-india-court-strikes-down-fact-check-unit", "title": "Bombay High Court strikes down India's government 'fact check unit' rule", "occurred_on": "2024-03-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "issue_of_the_day": "The government said the Fact Check Unit was needed to combat misinformation about its own policies and announcements online, at a time when it separately faced criticism over content restrictions ahead of India's 2024 general election.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-09-20", "outcome_note": "The Bombay High Court struck down the rule, finding its key terms 'vague and overbroad,' after the Supreme Court had already stayed its operation.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "India's 2023 amendment to its Information Technology Rules empowered a government-run Fact Check Unit to label online content about the central government 'fake' or 'false' and require its removal; comedian Kunal Kamra and media groups challenged it, and the Bombay High Court struck the rule down as unconstitutionally vague.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-india-court-strikes-down-fact-check-unit" }, { "slug": "2023-turkiye-detains-journalists-disinformation-law", "title": "Turkish authorities detain three journalists under 'disinformation' law", "occurred_on": "2023-11-01", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "TR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "issue_of_the_day": "Sardan had written about an alleged Turkish intelligence report on judicial corruption, which the government's Center for Combating Disinformation denied existed; Halk TV's Dincer Gokce had reported on people released from prison who were later linked to further crimes.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Two of the three journalists were released within a day; Tolga Sardan remained jailed pending trial.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Turkish authorities detained three journalists, jailing columnist Tolga Sardan pending trial, under a 2022 law criminalizing the spread of disinformation, after the government's own disinformation-fighting body disputed their reporting on a leaked intelligence document and a story about released prisoners.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-turkiye-detains-journalists-disinformation-law" }, { "slug": "2023-india-tax-authorities-raid-bbc-offices", "title": "Indian tax authorities search BBC offices weeks after Modi documentary ban", "occurred_on": "2023-02-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "issue_of_the_day": "The searches followed the government's ban, weeks earlier, of the BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question,' which examined Modi's record as Gujarat's chief minister during 2002 riots that killed mostly Muslims.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "No penalty or further tax action against the BBC was reported; the broadcaster's India operations continued.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "India's Income Tax Department searched BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai for alleged tax evasion, three weeks after the government used emergency powers to block a BBC documentary examining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response to 2002 communal violence.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-india-tax-authorities-raid-bbc-offices" }, { "slug": "2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses", "title": "Myanmar junta revokes five outlets' licenses and raids newsrooms after coup", "occurred_on": "2021-03-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MM", "country_name": "Myanmar", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "MM", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "min-aung-hlaing", "leader_name": "Min Aung Hlaing", "issue_of_the_day": "The outlets had been covering nationwide protests against the military's February 1, 2021 seizure of power from Myanmar's elected government, coverage the junta sought to stop by removing the outlets' legal authorization to operate.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The five outlets' licenses were not restored; CPJ counted at least 32 journalists still imprisoned as of July 2021.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Weeks after seizing power, Myanmar's military junta revoked the operating licenses of five independent media outlets covering protests against the coup and raided two of their newsrooms, seizing computers and files; journalists from the outlets were later arrested and charged under a broadened penal-code provision on spreading 'false news.'", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses" }, { "slug": "2020-china-expels-us-newspaper-journalists", "title": "China expels American journalists from three major U.S. newspapers", "occurred_on": "2020-03-17", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "CN", "country_name": "China", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "CN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "tactics": [ "credential_control", "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": "xi-jinping", "leader_name": "Xi Jinping", "issue_of_the_day": "The expulsions followed a rapid exchange of measures: a Wall Street Journal opinion piece China objected to, the U.S. capping Chinese state-media staff, and China's decision to expel American reporters from three outlets in response, all unfolding as the coronavirus pandemic was spreading globally.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The expelled journalists' press credentials were not restored; reciprocal media restrictions between the two countries continued for years afterward.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "China ordered American correspondents for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post to leave the country, in a reciprocal response to the Trump administration capping the number of Chinese state-media employees allowed in the United States, which itself followed China's earlier expulsion of three Journal reporters over an opinion headline.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-china-expels-us-newspaper-journalists" }, { "slug": "2019-india-kashmir-communications-blackout", "title": "India imposes a communications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir after revoking the region's special status", "occurred_on": "2019-08-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "issue_of_the_day": "The Indian government's August 2019 revocation of Article 370, which had granted Jammu and Kashmir a degree of constitutional autonomy since 1949.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2020-08-05", "outcome_note": "High-speed mobile internet remained restricted into 2020; the International Federation of Journalists reported the blackout as still affecting journalists' work a full year after it began.", "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "As it revoked Jammu and Kashmir's constitutional autonomy, India's government cut broadband, mobile internet, text messaging and phone service across the region, leaving local journalists unable to file stories, verify information or communicate with sources for months.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-india-kashmir-communications-blackout" }, { "slug": "2018-saudi-arabia-khashoggi-killed-consulate", "title": "Saudi Arabia's government kills journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside its Istanbul consulate", "occurred_on": "2018-10-02", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "SA", "country_name": "Saudi Arabia", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "SA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "king-salman", "leader_name": "Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud", "issue_of_the_day": "Jamal Khashoggi's Washington Post columns criticizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's consolidation of power and human-rights record.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "A Saudi court convicted eight unnamed operatives and sentenced five to death, later commuted; the CIA's assessment that the crown prince ordered the killing did not result in charges against him.", "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul; the CIA concluded the crown prince ordered the killing, which Saudi Arabia denied.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-saudi-arabia-khashoggi-killed-consulate" }, { "slug": "2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act", "title": "Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre", "occurred_on": "2018-09-03", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MM", "country_name": "Myanmar", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "MM", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "aung-san-suu-kyi", "leader_name": "Aung San Suu Kyi", "issue_of_the_day": "The Reuters investigation into the killing of ten Rohingya Muslim men and boys by Myanmar soldiers and local residents in Inn Din village, Rakhine State, in September 2017.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2019-05-07", "outcome_note": "President Win Myint pardoned and released Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on May 7, 2019, after 511 days in prison, as part of a mass amnesty.", "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Myanmar court sentenced Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act after police handed them classified documents at a dinner shortly before their arrest, while they were investigating the killing of Rohingya Muslim villagers.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act" }, { "slug": "2017-cambodia-daily-closed-tax-bill", "title": "Cambodia's government forces the closure of The Cambodia Daily with a disputed multimillion-dollar tax bill", "occurred_on": "2017-09-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "KH", "country_name": "Cambodia", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "KH", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "hun-sen", "leader_name": "Hun Sen", "issue_of_the_day": "Preparations for Cambodia's 2018 general election and a wider government campaign against independent media and civil-society groups seen as sympathetic to the opposition.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2017-09-04", "outcome_note": "The Cambodia Daily did not reopen; its closure coincided with a wider campaign against independent outlets and civil-society groups ahead of Cambodia's 2018 election.", "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Cambodia's tax authority presented the independent, English-language Cambodia Daily with a $6.3 million bill the paper called arbitrary and undocumented, forcing the 24-year-old newspaper to close rather than pay, amid a wider campaign against independent media before 2018 elections.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2017-cambodia-daily-closed-tax-bill" }, { "slug": "2016-turkey-post-coup-media-closures", "title": "Turkey closes more than 100 media outlets by decree after a failed coup attempt", "occurred_on": "2016-07-27", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "TR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "issue_of_the_day": "The failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt against President Erdogan's government and the mass arrests and dismissals that followed against alleged participants and sympathizers.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2016-12-31", "outcome_note": "Most closures were not reversed by the decrees themselves; Human Rights Watch documented that the closures reached opposition and Kurdish-audience outlets beyond any shown Gulen movement link.", "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After a failed July 2016 coup attempt, Turkey's government closed more than 100 newspapers, television and radio stations, news agencies and publishing houses by state-of-emergency decree, citing alleged links to the movement it blamed for the coup.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2016-turkey-post-coup-media-closures" }, { "slug": "2009-iran-post-election-foreign-press-restrictions", "title": "Iran expels a BBC correspondent and restricts foreign journalists after a disputed 2009 election", "occurred_on": "2009-06-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IR", "country_name": "Iran", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "tactics": [ "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "mahmoud-ahmadinejad", "leader_name": "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad", "issue_of_the_day": "Iran's disputed June 12, 2009 presidential election and the mass protests that followed allegations the vote was rigged for incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The sources reviewed do not establish when Iran lifted the specific 2009 restrictions on foreign correspondents covering the post-election protests.", "era": "2000s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After Iran's disputed June 2009 presidential election produced mass protests, the government expelled BBC correspondent Jon Leyne, revoked foreign press credentials, confined most foreign journalists to office-based reporting, and blocked access to numerous websites.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2009-iran-post-election-foreign-press-restrictions" }, { "slug": "1998-malaysia-anwar-arrest-press-restrictions", "title": "Malaysia pressures domestic media and monitors foreign correspondents after arresting former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim", "occurred_on": "1998-09-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MY", "country_name": "Malaysia", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "MY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "mahathir-mohamad", "leader_name": "Mahathir Mohamad", "issue_of_the_day": "The September 1998 dismissal, arrest and prosecution of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on corruption and sodomy charges.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The sources reviewed do not describe a formal reversal of the surveillance of journalists or the pressure on party-linked papers during this period.", "era": "1990s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government arrested former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998, party-linked newspapers pressured staff to follow the official line, police visited journalists who interviewed his wife, and authorities said they would monitor internet traffic about the case.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-malaysia-anwar-arrest-press-restrictions" }, { "slug": "1989-china-tiananmen-foreign-journalists-expelled", "title": "China expels foreign journalists and restricts coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests", "occurred_on": "1989-06-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "CN", "country_name": "China", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "CN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": "li-peng", "leader_name": "Li Peng", "issue_of_the_day": "Student-led pro-democracy protests had occupied Tiananmen Square for weeks before the government declared martial law and then used the military to clear the square in early June 1989, and moved to control international coverage of the events that followed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1990-01-01", "outcome_note": "Martial law in Beijing was lifted in January 1990, but broad Chinese government controls on foreign press coverage continued well beyond that date.", "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After declaring martial law in Beijing on May 20, 1989, China's government imposed rigid restrictions on coverage of pro-democracy protests and, following the military's June 3-4 clearing of Tiananmen Square, expelled Associated Press correspondent John Pomfret and Voice of America correspondent Alan Pessin.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1989-china-tiananmen-foreign-journalists-expelled" }, { "slug": "1988-burma-slorc-press-scrutiny", "title": "Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing power", "occurred_on": "1988-09-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MM", "country_name": "Myanmar", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "MM", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "saw-maung", "leader_name": "Saw Maung", "issue_of_the_day": "SLORC had just taken power after crushing the August 1988 pro-democracy uprising, sometimes called 8888 for its start date, and used the Press Scrutiny Board to prevent coverage sympathetic to the uprising or critical of military rule.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "1989-01-01", "outcome_note": "The Press Scrutiny Board's pre-publication press controls remained fully in force at the end of 1989 and continued operating for decades afterward.", "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After crushing the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, Burma's new military government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, tightened an existing pre-publication press controls board and raised penalties for unauthorized publishing to seven years in prison, while denying any press controls existed.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-burma-slorc-press-scrutiny" }, { "slug": "1980-south-korea-chun-doo-hwan-press-purge", "title": "South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controls", "occurred_on": "1980-07-31", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "KR", "country_name": "South Korea", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "KR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "chun-doo-hwan", "leader_name": "Chun Doo-hwan", "issue_of_the_day": "Chun Doo-hwan's military government had just suppressed a pro-democracy uprising centered in the city of Kwangju in May 1980, and used the purge to remove journalists it associated with resistance to press press controls during that period.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1987-06-01", "outcome_note": "South Korea's June 1987 democracy movement led to direct presidential elections and an easing of press controls; a 1986 leak of secret press guidelines had already embarrassed the government.", "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under General Chun Doo-hwan's martial-law government, South Korean authorities ordered newsrooms in 1980 to purge journalists who had resisted press controls or joined a May sit-in strike for press freedom, and closed 172 periodicals, dismissing roughly 2,000 journalists in total.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1980-south-korea-chun-doo-hwan-press-purge" }, { "slug": "1975-india-emergency-press-censorship", "title": "India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 Emergency", "occurred_on": "1975-06-26", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "indira-gandhi", "leader_name": "Indira Gandhi", "issue_of_the_day": "A court had found Prime Minister Gandhi guilty of election malpractice shortly before the Emergency began, and her government cited threats to internal stability in declaring the state of emergency and imposing press press controls the next day.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1977-03-21", "outcome_note": "Gandhi ended the Emergency and lifted press press controls on March 21, 1977, shortly before her party lost the general election that followed.", "era": "1970s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency on June 25, 1975, and the next day her government imposed pre-press controls on every Indian newspaper, requiring official clearance before publication and later forcibly merging the country's news agencies into one.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1975-india-emergency-press-censorship" }, { "slug": "1972-philippines-marcos-martial-law-media-closures", "title": "Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial law", "occurred_on": "1972-09-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PH", "country_name": "Philippines", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "PH", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "prior_restraint", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "ferdinand-marcos", "leader_name": "Ferdinand Marcos", "issue_of_the_day": "Marcos had declared martial law citing threats from Communist insurgency and civil unrest, and moved immediately to eliminate independent media coverage that might question the declaration or his expanding powers.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1986-02-25", "outcome_note": "Marcos was removed from power in the People Power Revolution of February 22-25, 1986, ending martial-law controls on the Philippine press.", "era": "1970s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and the next day ordered the military to take over nearly every newspaper, radio and television station in the Philippines, jailing prominent publishers and editors and requiring government clearance for whatever remained.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1972-philippines-marcos-martial-law-media-closures" }, { "slug": "1948-israel-military-censorship-established", "title": "Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the press", "occurred_on": "1948-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "IL", "country_name": "Israel", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IL", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "david-ben-gurion", "leader_name": "David Ben-Gurion", "issue_of_the_day": "Israel's 1948 declaration of independence and the war that followed created an immediate perceived security need, which the retained British-era Press Ordinance and later Editors' Committee arrangement were meant to address by keeping military information out of print.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "1989-01-01", "outcome_note": "The military press-review system built on the 1948 Press Ordinance and the 1953 Editors' Committee remained in force through the 1980s and beyond.", "era": "1940s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "When Israel declared independence in 1948 under Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, it retained a British Mandate-era Press Ordinance giving the military the power to review and restrict publications on security grounds, later formalized through an Editors' Committee that let most Israeli newspapers self-restrict security matters.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1948-israel-military-censorship-established" } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=asia&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.json?continent=asia", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.md?continent=asia" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }