{ "title": "Incidents in Europe, national level", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=europe&level=national", "filters": { "continent": "europe", "level": "national" }, "sort": "date", "count": 40, "page": 1, "pages": 1, "per_page": 50, "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.", "facets": { "country": [ { "value": "BY", "label": "Belarus", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "CZ", "label": "Czechia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 11, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/country-czechia" } }, { "value": "DE", "label": "Germany", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 14, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "HU", "label": "Hungary", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "MT", "label": "Malta", "rsf": null }, { "value": "PL", "label": "Poland", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 27, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "PT", "label": "Portugal", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 10, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "RU", "label": "Russia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "RS", "label": "Serbia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 104, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "SK", "label": "Slovakia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 37, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 37th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "ES", "label": "Spain", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 29, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "GB", "label": "United Kingdom", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 18, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } } ], "continent": [ { "value": "europe", "label": "Europe" } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "label": "Funding and ownership pressure", "count": 10 }, { "value": "outlet_licensing", "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets", "count": 8 }, { "value": "detention_and_violence", "label": "Detention and violence", "count": 7 }, { "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "label": "Insult and defamation laws", "count": 6 }, { "value": "disinformation_labeling", "label": "Official labels", "count": 5 }, { "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "label": "Shutdowns and blocking", "count": 5 }, { "value": "prior_restraint", "label": "Prior restraint", "count": 5 }, { "value": "access_ban", "label": "Access bans", "count": 2 }, { "value": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "label": "Surveillance and subpoenas", "count": 2 }, { "value": "lawsuits_against_press", "label": "Lawsuits against the press", "count": 2 }, { "value": "credential_control", "label": "Credential control", "count": 2 }, { "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "label": "Secrets and espionage laws", "count": 1 }, { "value": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "label": "Expulsion and visa denial", "count": 1 } ], "stage": [ { "value": "pressure", "label": "Pressure", "count": 11 }, { "value": "punish", "label": "Punish", "count": 9 }, { "value": "silence", "label": "Silence", "count": 14 }, { "value": "eliminate", "label": "Eliminate", "count": 6 } ], "level": [ { "value": "national", "label": "National", "count": 40 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "sustained", "label": "Sustained", "count": 19 }, { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 11 }, { "value": "ongoing", "label": "Ongoing", "count": 5 }, { "value": "upheld", "label": "Upheld by a court", "count": 3 }, { "value": "unknown", "label": "Unknown", "count": 2 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "adolf-hitler", "label": "Adolf Hitler" }, { "value": "aleksandar-vucic", "label": "Aleksandar Vucic" }, { "value": "alexander-dubcek", "label": "Alexander Dubček" }, { "value": "alexander-lukashenko", "label": "Alexander Lukashenko" }, { "value": "antonio-salazar", "label": "António de Oliveira Salazar" }, { "value": "beata-szydlo", "label": "Beata Szydlo" }, { "value": "david-cameron", "label": "David Cameron" }, { "value": "francisco-franco", "label": "Francisco Franco" }, { "value": "joseph-muscat", "label": "Joseph Muscat" }, { "value": "margaret-thatcher", "label": "Margaret Thatcher" }, { "value": "mateusz-morawiecki", "label": "Mateusz Morawiecki" }, { "value": "robert-fico", "label": "Robert Fico" }, { "value": "slobodan-milosevic", "label": "Slobodan Milosevic" }, { "value": "viktor-orban", "label": "Viktor Orban" }, { "value": "vladimir-lenin", "label": "Vladimir Lenin" }, { "value": "vladimir-putin", "label": "Vladimir Putin" }, { "value": "wojciech-jaruzelski", "label": "Wojciech Jaruzelski" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 23 }, { "value": "2010s", "label": "2010s", "count": 7 }, { "value": "1930s", "label": "1930s", "count": 3 }, { "value": "2000s", "label": "2000s", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1980s", "label": "1980s", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1990s", "label": "1990s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1960s", "label": "1960s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1920s", "label": "1920s", "count": 1 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1922", "label": "1922", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1933", "label": "1933", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1938", "label": "1938", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1968", "label": "1968", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1981", "label": "1981", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1988", "label": "1988", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1998", "label": "1998", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2001", "label": "2001", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2006", "label": "2006", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2010", "label": "2010", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2015", "label": "2015", "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": 3 }, { "value": "2021", "label": "2021", "count": 5 }, { "value": "2022", "label": "2022", "count": 7 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 5 }, { "value": "2024", "label": "2024", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2025", "label": "2025", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 1 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 40 } ] }, "results": [ { "slug": "2026-russia-new-law-targets-exiled-journalists-assets", "title": "Russia: law on asset freezes and service denials for exiled \"foreign agents\", August 2026", "occurred_on": "2026-08-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2026-08-04", "outcome_note": "Signed and in force on 2026-08-04, according to RSF (s062).", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On August 4, 2026, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, signed a law, adopted unanimously by the Russian parliament on July 24, 2026, that allows the authorities to freeze bank accounts, block property and vehicle sales and deny consular services such as passport renewal to Russians in exile who have been designated \"foreign agents\" or who cooperate with organizations Russia has labelled \"undesirable.\" A \"foreign agent\" is a Russian legal designation that places a person or organization on a government register and subjects them to added restrictions. Of those designated, \"the vast majority are journalists,\" according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The law entered into force the same day.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-russia-new-law-targets-exiled-journalists-assets" }, { "slug": "2025-serbia-police-target-journalists-protests", "title": "Serbian police strike, detain and disarm journalists covering anti-government protests", "occurred_on": "2025-09-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RS", "country_name": "Serbia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RS", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "aleksandar-vucic", "leader_name": "Aleksandar Vucic", "issue_of_the_day": "The protests, which grew through the summer of 2025, followed months of demonstrations against President Aleksandar Vucic's government that began after a deadly railway-station canopy collapse in Novi Sad in late 2024.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The interior ministry did not respond to CPJ's request for comment, and no officer was reported disciplined for the incidents documented.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 104, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The Committee to Protect Journalists documented at least 28 Serbian journalists reporting being struck, detained, sprayed with chemical irritants or having their equipment destroyed by police between June and September 2025 while covering nationwide anti-government protests; the interior ministry did not respond to CPJ's request for comment.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-serbia-police-target-journalists-protests" }, { "slug": "2024-slovakia-dissolves-rtvs-creates-stvr", "title": "Slovakia's parliament dissolves public broadcaster RTVS, replaces it with STVR", "occurred_on": "2024-06-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "SK", "country_name": "Slovakia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "SK", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "robert-fico", "leader_name": "Robert Fico", "issue_of_the_day": "Fico's government accused RTVS of one-sided, activist coverage against it, a complaint it made after RTVS reporting the government considered unfavorable during Fico's return to power in late 2023.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2024-07-01", "outcome_note": "STVR replaced RTVS as planned; the ousted director-general kept only his separate parliamentary mandate.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 37, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 37th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Slovakia's parliament, controlled by Prime Minister Robert Fico's coalition, dissolved public broadcaster RTVS and replaced it with a new entity, STVR, whose director is now chosen through a process giving parliament and the culture ministry more direct control, prompting protests and criticism from the European Union.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-slovakia-dissolves-rtvs-creates-stvr" }, { "slug": "2023-hungary-sovereignty-protection-act", "title": "Hungary: National Sovereignty Protection Act and Sovereignty Protection Office, December 2023", "occurred_on": "2023-12-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-06-30", "outcome_note": "The National Assembly abolished the Sovereignty Protection Office on 2026-06-30, according to CPJ (s055).", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On December 20, 2023, the president of Hungary, Katalin Novák, promulgated the National Sovereignty Protection Act, passed by the National Assembly, Hungary's parliament, during the government of the prime minister, Viktor Orbán. The law created a Sovereignty Protection Office empowered to investigate organizations, including news outlets, that it determined might be influenced by foreign actors or threaten national sovereignty. A week earlier, ten Hungarian media outlets had said the law \"is capable of severely restricting the freedom of the press.\" After a change of government in 2026, the National Assembly abolished the office on June 30, 2026.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-hungary-sovereignty-protection-act" }, { "slug": "2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich", "title": "Russia: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years", "occurred_on": "2023-03-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-08-01", "outcome_note": "Gershkovich was freed in a prisoner exchange alongside RFE/RL editor Alsu Kurmasheva after 16 months in detention.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Russia held a Wall Street Journal reporter for over a year on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, then sentenced him to sixteen years; United States detentions of journalists in the record have not led to years-long imprisonment on state charges.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in March 2023 on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, held him for about 15 months before a closed trial, and sentenced him to 16 years before releasing him in a prisoner exchange.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich" }, { "slug": "2023-russia-ponomarenko-fake-news-sentence", "title": "Russia: journalist Maria Ponomarenko is sentenced to six years for reporting on a Mariupol strike", "occurred_on": "2023-02-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Ponomarenko's post concerned an airstrike that hit a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, in March 2022, a strike Russian authorities have denied responsibility for.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2023-02-15", "outcome_note": "Ponomarenko's six-year sentence and five-year journalism ban stood as of the source reviewed.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "A journalist received a six-year sentence and a five-year professional ban under a wartime false-information law for one social media post, not a fine or license action.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Russian court sentenced journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in prison and a five-year ban on journalism under a law criminalizing \"false information\" about the military, after she published a Telegram post about an airstrike on a Mariupol theater that Russia denies carrying out.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-russia-ponomarenko-fake-news-sentence" }, { "slug": "2023-belarus-sentences-poczobut", "title": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut sentenced to eight years", "occurred_on": "2023-02-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BY", "country_name": "Belarus", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "BY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko", "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-04-28", "outcome_note": "Poczobut was freed after 1,860 days as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange; CPJ reported 22 other journalists remained imprisoned in Belarus at the time.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Belarus sentenced a correspondent to eight years for reporting on its Polish minority and held him nearly five years before an exchange; comparable United States detentions in the record ended in hours, not years.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Belarus sentenced Polish-Belarusian correspondent Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, after holding him since March 2021. He was freed five years later in a multi-country prisoner exchange.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-sentences-poczobut" }, { "slug": "2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence", "title": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut is sentenced to eight years for inciting hatred", "occurred_on": "2023-02-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BY", "country_name": "Belarus", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "BY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko", "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko", "issue_of_the_day": "Poczobut had been a longtime commentator and producer for programs on the Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV and Polish public broadcaster TVP Polonia, reporting on Belarus for a Polish-speaking audience.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-04-28", "outcome_note": "Poczobut was freed on April 28, 2026, as part of a prisoner exchange involving eight countries, before completing his eight-year sentence.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "A journalist was imprisoned for about five years on a hatred and sanctions charge, and his release required an eight-country prisoner exchange rather than any domestic legal process.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Belarusian court sentenced dual Belarusian-Polish journalist Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, and he was freed three years later as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-safronov-treason-sentence", "title": "Russia: journalist Ivan Safronov is sentenced to 22 years for treason", "occurred_on": "2022-09-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Safronov had reported for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti on Russian military affairs, including 2019 coverage of a planned sale of fighter jets to Egypt, before taking a communications role at Russia's space agency.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2022-09-05", "outcome_note": "Safronov received a 22-year sentence and planned to appeal; the source reviewed does not report a ruling on any appeal.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "A journalist received a 22-year sentence for treason in a case linked to his own earlier reporting, far longer than any credential, licensing or fine-based restriction.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Russian court sentenced military correspondent Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison for treason, accusing him of spying for a foreign state, in a case his supporters linked to his 2019 reporting on Russian arms sales to Egypt.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-safronov-treason-sentence" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-suspends-novaya-gazeta-license", "title": "Russia: a Moscow court suspends Novaya Gazeta's print license", "occurred_on": "2022-09-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "The suspension came about six months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during which several independent Russian outlets closed or moved abroad rather than operate under new wartime speech laws.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-09-05", "outcome_note": "The Basmanny District Court's suspension of the print license stood as of the ruling, with no reversal reported in the source reviewed.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "A national court ended a Nobel-recognized newspaper's print license outright over a sixteen-year-old paperwork dispute, not a temporary suspension or fine.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Moscow court suspended the print license of Novaya Gazeta, whose editor Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, after the media regulator Roskomnadzor said the paper had not provided documents about a 2006 change of ownership.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-suspends-novaya-gazeta-license" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-bars-entry-foreign-journalists", "title": "Russia: entry bans, visa restrictions and bureau closures for foreign correspondents", "occurred_on": "2022-06-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Russia's actions followed Western governments' sanctions on Russian state broadcasters and officials after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-06-16", "outcome_note": "The bans on named British and Australian journalists and the suspension of simplified visas for European journalists remained in effect through 2022 according to the source reviewed.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "Dozens of named foreign correspondents were barred from entering the country by law and by sanction, not merely excluded from one building or briefing.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Over several months in 2022, Russian authorities closed a Canadian broadcaster's Moscow bureau, barred dozens of named British and Australian journalists from entering the country, and suspended simplified visa rules for European journalists.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-bars-entry-foreign-journalists" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-expels-cbc-cancels-visas", "title": "Russia: CBC/Radio-Canada bureau closed and journalists' visas cancelled", "occurred_on": "2022-05-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "tactics": [ "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-05-18", "outcome_note": "The bureau closure and visa cancellations were not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "Russia closed a foreign broadcaster's bureau and cancelled its journalists' visas and accreditation after Canada imposed sanctions; the September 2026 White House ban restricted building access but did not remove any outlet's staff from the country.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russian authorities ordered the Canadian broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada's Moscow bureau closed and cancelled its journalists' visas and accreditation, part of a wave of expulsions and non-renewals of foreign correspondents after the invasion of Ukraine.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-expels-cbc-cancels-visas" }, { "slug": "2022-belarus-labels-dw-extremist", "title": "Belarus: Deutsche Welle and other outlets labeled 'extremist'", "occurred_on": "2022-03-09", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BY", "country_name": "Belarus", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "BY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko", "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-03-09", "outcome_note": "The designation brought the total number of outlets labeled extremist in Belarus to 20 and was not reported as reversed.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "Belarus banned a foreign broadcaster's entire output as extremist material, making it a crime to read or share it, and jailed a former correspondent the same week; no United States \"fake news\" label makes sharing an outlet's work a crime.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Minsk court declared all output from German broadcaster Deutsche Welle \"extremist,\" alongside a local newspaper and a Russian blogger's videos, making it a crime to produce, store or share the labeled material, as a former correspondent was jailed the same week.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-belarus-labels-dw-extremist" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-blocks-bbc-dw-meduza", "title": "Russia: regulator blocks BBC Russian, Deutsche Welle and other outlets", "occurred_on": "2022-03-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-03-04", "outcome_note": "The blocks were not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "Russia's regulator blocked five foreign outlets and two social media platforms nationwide within days of invading Ukraine, alongside fifteen-year prison terms for coverage it called false; the White House ban excluded three outlets from one building, not from the country.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access nationwide to the websites of BBC Russian, Deutsche Welle, Meduza, Voice of America's Russian service and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty within days of invading Ukraine, alongside new prison terms for reporting the regulator called false.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-blocks-bbc-dw-meduza" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-criminalizes-fake-war-reports", "title": "Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prison", "occurred_on": "2022-03-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "The law followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and was aimed at reporting on the war that differed from the Russian defense ministry's official statements about casualties and military conduct.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The law remained in force; independent outlets that avoided closure continued operating from outside Russia.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia's parliament passed a law criminalizing the publication of information about the military that contradicts official statements, with penalties up to 15 years in prison, prompting Novaya Gazeta to pull its Ukraine war coverage and the BBC, CNN and other outlets to suspend operations inside Russia.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-criminalizes-fake-war-reports" }, { "slug": "2021-hungary-panyi-pegasus-spyware", "title": "Hungary: investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware", "occurred_on": "2021-07-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": "The finding was published as part of the July 2021 Pegasus Project, a collaborative investigation by Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International's Security Lab into governments' use of NSO Group's Pegasus spyware against journalists and civil society figures worldwide.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2021-07-01", "outcome_note": "The finding prompted European Union scrutiny of Pegasus use against journalists, but the source reviewed does not report any Hungarian accountability measure.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "A journalist's phone was covertly infected with spyware capable of reading his communications and locating his sources, rather than a subpoena for records already created.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Amnesty International found forensic traces of Pegasus spyware on the phone of Direkt36 investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi, who covers Hungarian national security and diplomacy, as part of the wider Pegasus Project investigation.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-hungary-panyi-pegasus-spyware" }, { "slug": "2021-belarus-blocks-tutby-arrests-staff", "title": "Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist'", "occurred_on": "2021-05-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BY", "country_name": "Belarus", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "BY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko", "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko", "issue_of_the_day": "Tut.by had continued reporting on the government's response to protests following the disputed August 2020 presidential election that kept Alexander Lukashenko in power; authorities revoked the outlet's official media registration in January 2021.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Tut.by remained blocked and its former staff continued reporting from exile as Zerkalo; the criminal proceedings against staff continued.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Belarusian authorities blocked access to Tut.by, the country's most-read independent news site, searched its offices in three cities and arrested at least eleven staff, including its editor-in-chief, citing alleged media-law violations after the site had already lost its official media status.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-belarus-blocks-tutby-arrests-staff" }, { "slug": "2021-russia-designates-meduza-foreign-agent", "title": "Russia: independent outlet Meduza designated a 'foreign agent'", "occurred_on": "2021-04-23", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2021-04-23", "outcome_note": "The designation was not reversed; Russia later declared Meduza an 'undesirable organization' and outlawed it entirely.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "Russia's foreign agent label forced an outlet to mark every article, file quarterly reports and risk two years in prison for lapses, by its own editor's account destroying its advertising business; no United States \"fake news\" designation carries a legal reporting duty or prison exposure.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia's Justice Ministry labeled the independent news site Meduza and outlet PASMI \"foreign agents,\" a status requiring constant public disclosure, quarterly reports and audits, and carrying up to two years in prison for noncompliance, which Meduza said would destroy its advertising business.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-russia-designates-meduza-foreign-agent" }, { "slug": "2021-poland-orlen-buys-polska-press", "title": "Poland: state oil company Orlen buys the Polska Press newspaper group", "occurred_on": "2021-04-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "PL", "country_name": "Poland", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "PL", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "mateusz-morawiecki", "leader_name": "Mateusz Morawiecki", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2021-04-01", "outcome_note": "The acquisition closed and was not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "A state-controlled company bought a group of 20 regional papers reaching 17 million readers; United States funding pressure has cut money and reviewed licenses but has not transferred an outlet's ownership to the state.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 27, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Poland's state-controlled oil company PKN Orlen completed the purchase of Polska Press, a group of 20 regional newspapers reaching millions of readers, from its German owner, over objections from Poland's human rights commissioner.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-poland-orlen-buys-polska-press" }, { "slug": "2021-hungary-klubradio-loses-broadcast-license", "title": "Hungary: Klubradio loses its terrestrial broadcast license over its tender application", "occurred_on": "2021-02-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": "The decision affected one of the last Hungarian broadcasters to carry news and talk programming independent of the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "2021-09-01", "outcome_note": "Hungary's Curia upheld the Media Council's denial of Klubradio's license renewal in September 2021.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "A national broadcast regulator ended one of the country's last independent stations' terrestrial license over its paperwork, and the country's top court upheld the decision.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Hungary's Media Council ended Klubradio's decades-old terrestrial broadcast license, citing errors in its renewal application, after the station had built a following as one of the country's few remaining independent voices.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-hungary-klubradio-loses-broadcast-license" }, { "slug": "2020-belarus-strips-accreditation-foreign-outlets", "title": "Belarus: accreditation withdrawn from 17 journalists working for foreign outlets", "occurred_on": "2020-08-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BY", "country_name": "Belarus", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "BY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko", "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko", "issue_of_the_day": "The journalists had been covering protests that followed Belarus's August 9, 2020, presidential election, which the opposition and Western governments said was falsified in favor of Alexander Lukashenko.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2020-08-29", "outcome_note": "The accreditation of at least 17 journalists was withdrawn and some were deported the same day, with no reversal reported in the source reviewed.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "At least 17 journalists working for named international outlets lost accreditation nationwide and some were deported, not confined to one building or pool.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Belarus's government revoked the accreditation of at least 17 journalists working for foreign outlets, including the BBC, Reuters, the Associated Press, Radio Liberty, AFP and Deutsche Welle, as they covered protests after a disputed presidential election.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-belarus-strips-accreditation-foreign-outlets" }, { "slug": "2020-hungary-index-hu-editor-fired", "title": "Hungary: editor fired and staff resign at Index.hu", "occurred_on": "2020-07-24", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2020-07-24", "outcome_note": "Dull's dismissal stood and the outlet continued under its changed ownership; the sources reviewed do not report a reversal.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "An editor was fired and most of a ninety-person newsroom resigned after a government-linked businessman gained influence over the outlet's ownership; United States funding pressure has not removed an editor through an ownership change.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Index.hu, Hungary's most-read independent news site, fired editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull weeks after he warned that a change in ownership threatened its independence. Most of the newsroom resigned within days.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-hungary-index-hu-editor-fired" }, { "slug": "2020-hungary-coronavirus-fake-news-law", "title": "Hungary criminalizes false coronavirus information and grants Orban decree powers", "occurred_on": "2020-03-30", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": "The law was passed as Hungary, like much of Europe, entered its first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020; the government said it needed emergency powers to respond quickly to the pandemic.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Hungary's government said it would end Orban's decree powers by June 20, 2020; the false-information provision's later fate was not established.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Hungary's parliament passed an emergency coronavirus law allowing prison terms of up to five years for spreading information the government deemed false or distorted about the pandemic, and let Prime Minister Viktor Orban rule by decree for an unlimited period.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-hungary-coronavirus-fake-news-law" }, { "slug": "2019-russia-fake-news-disrespect-law", "title": "Russia: new laws penalize online \"fake news\" and \"disrespecting authorities\"", "occurred_on": "2019-03-07", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2019-03-07", "outcome_note": "The laws were enacted and were later expanded in March 2022 to include prison terms of up to 15 years for wartime 'fakes.'", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "Russia's parliament created fines and jail terms for online posts that authorities alone judge false or disrespectful of officials; no enacted United States law imposes jail time for calling an official statement false.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia's parliament passed laws letting courts jail and fine people, including journalists, for posting information the government alone judges to be false, or for statements found to disrespect officials or state symbols online.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-russia-fake-news-disrespect-law" }, { "slug": "2018-hungary-kesma-media-merger", "title": "Hungary: formation of the KESMA pro-government media foundation", "occurred_on": "2018-11-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2018-11-29", "outcome_note": "The merger was completed and the exemption was not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "Owners surrendered 476 outlets into one government-aligned foundation, exempted by decree from antitrust review; United States funding pressure has cut money and licenses but has not required owners to give up outlets.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Owners aligned with Hungary's governing party donated 476 outlets into one non-profit foundation, KESMA. The government exempted the merger from the antitrust review that would normally apply to a combination of that size.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-hungary-kesma-media-merger" }, { "slug": "2018-russia-fines-the-new-times", "title": "Russia: outlet fined $338,000 under the foreign agents law", "occurred_on": "2018-10-26", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "lawsuits_against_press", "tactics": [ "lawsuits_against_press" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2018-10-26", "outcome_note": "The outlet's editor said she would appeal the fine; the source reviewed does not report the appeal's result.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "A court fined an outlet $338,000 over a foreign agents paperwork lapse, a sum its editor said was designed to force its closure; United States lawsuits against the press have not sought a fine that could end an outlet's operations.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Moscow court fined the magazine The New Times 22.3 million rubles, about $338,000, for a paperwork lapse under Russia's foreign agents law, a sum its editor said was designed to force the outlet to close.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-russia-fines-the-new-times" }, { "slug": "2017-malta-freezes-caruana-galizia-account", "title": "Malta: minister orders reporter's bank account frozen", "occurred_on": "2017-02-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "MT", "country_name": "Malta", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "MT", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "lawsuits_against_press", "tactics": [ "lawsuits_against_press" ], "leader_slug": "joseph-muscat", "leader_name": "Joseph Muscat", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The source reviewed does not report the freeze being lifted before her 2017 killing; five people were later sentenced over the killing itself between 2022 and 2026, while defamation suits continued against her family.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "A minister ordered a reporter's bank account frozen a month after her story on his colleagues, one of dozens of suits filed against her before her killing; United States lawsuits against the press in the record have not frozen a journalist's assets.", "rsf": null, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A month after journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia published reporting on members of Malta's government, the economy minister had her bank account frozen, one of dozens of legal actions she faced before she was killed in a car bombing in October 2017.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2017-malta-freezes-caruana-galizia-account" }, { "slug": "2015-poland-public-media-law-firings", "title": "Poland's new government gains power to replace public broadcaster leadership, and journalists are dismissed", "occurred_on": "2015-12-31", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PL", "country_name": "Poland", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "PL", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "beata-szydlo", "leader_name": "Beata Szydlo", "issue_of_the_day": "Law and Justice's decisive October 2015 election win and its stated aim of overhauling public institutions it viewed as insufficiently accountable to voters.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2019-12-31", "outcome_note": "The appointment power and pattern of dismissals continued through the remainder of the PiS government's term; ownership of the public broadcasters changed only after a later change of government.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 27, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Weeks after winning power, Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party passed a law letting the treasury minister directly appoint and dismiss the heads of public radio and television, and dozens of journalists at the public broadcaster were subsequently dismissed or resigned.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2015-poland-public-media-law-firings" }, { "slug": "2013-uk-miranda-detention-guardian-hard-drives", "title": "United Kingdom detains journalist's partner under terrorism law and oversees destruction of Guardian hard drives holding Snowden files", "occurred_on": "2013-08-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "GB", "country_name": "United Kingdom", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "GB", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "david-cameron", "leader_name": "David Cameron", "issue_of_the_day": "The Guardian's 2013 reporting, based on files leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, on mass surveillance by the United States and United Kingdom.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "2016-01-19", "outcome_note": "The Court of Appeal ruled in January 2016 that Miranda's detention itself was lawful, but found Schedule 7's stop powers incompatible with press-freedom protections for journalistic material generally.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 18, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "British authorities detained David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, for nine hours at Heathrow Airport under anti-terrorism powers, and separately had Guardian staff destroy hard drives holding files leaked by Edward Snowden rather than hand them to a court.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-uk-miranda-detention-guardian-hard-drives" }, { "slug": "2010-hungary-media-law-content-authority", "title": "Hungary's parliament gives a government-appointed media council power to fine outlets for unbalanced coverage", "occurred_on": "2010-12-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": "The incoming Fidesz government's broader effort, after its April 2010 election win, to restructure Hungary's state institutions, including media regulation.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2011-01-01", "outcome_note": "The law took effect January 1, 2011, and, after European Union criticism, Hungary amended some provisions in 2011 but kept the media authority's core licensing and fining powers.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Hungary's parliament, controlled by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, passed a media law creating a government-appointed National Media and Infocommunications Authority empowered to fine any outlet, print, broadcast or online, for coverage it deemed unbalanced or offensive to public morality.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2010-hungary-media-law-content-authority" }, { "slug": "2006-russia-politkovskaya-killed", "title": "Investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya is shot dead in Moscow; a former police officer is later convicted of organizing the killing", "occurred_on": "2006-10-07", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Politkovskaya's investigative reporting on human-rights abuses in Chechnya and her criticism of the Russian government's conduct there.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "2014-06-09", "outcome_note": "Courts convicted and sentenced five men, including former police officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, for organizing or carrying out the killing; who ordered it was never conclusively established in court.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Who ordered the killing was never conclusively established in court.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Anna Politkovskaya, a Novaya Gazeta journalist known for reporting critical of Russia's conduct of the war in Chechnya, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building; a Moscow court later convicted a former police officer of organizing surveillance for her killers.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2006-russia-politkovskaya-killed" }, { "slug": "2001-russia-gazprom-takeover-ntv", "title": "State-controlled Gazprom takes formal control of Russia's independent NTV television network", "occurred_on": "2001-04-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "NTV's critical coverage of Russia's second war in Chechnya and of the government of President Vladimir Putin, who had taken office in May 2000.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2001-04-14", "outcome_note": "The takeover was not reversed; most of NTV's original staff resigned in the following weeks rather than work under the new management.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas company, used debts owed by NTV's parent company to take control of the country's last major independent television network at a shareholders' meeting, replacing its owner and top editors with its own appointees.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2001-russia-gazprom-takeover-ntv" }, { "slug": "1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines", "title": "Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger", "occurred_on": "1998-10-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RS", "country_name": "Serbia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RS", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "slobodan-milosevic", "leader_name": "Slobodan Milosevic", "issue_of_the_day": "Independent Serbian media's coverage of NATO's escalating confrontation with Yugoslavia over Kosovo through 1998 and 1999.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2001-01-01", "outcome_note": "The law was suspended after Milosevic lost power in October 2000 elections and a change of government in Serbia.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 104, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1990s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Serbia's parliament passed a Public Information Act allowing courts to levy same-day fines against newspapers for vaguely defined offenses against the state's interests, and independent papers were fined far more often and more heavily than pro-government ones.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines" }, { "slug": "1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein", "title": "United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices", "occurred_on": "1988-10-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "GB", "country_name": "United Kingdom", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "GB", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "margaret-thatcher", "leader_name": "Margaret Thatcher", "issue_of_the_day": "Violence linked to the conflict in Northern Ireland, often called the Troubles, continued through the 1980s, and the British government wanted to deny paramilitary-linked political figures what it considered a broadcasting platform.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1994-09-16", "outcome_note": "The broadcasting ban was lifted on September 16, 1994, shortly after the Irish Republican Army's August 1994 ceasefire declaration.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 18, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Home Secretary Douglas Hurd directed British broadcasters in October 1988 not to air the voices of representatives of Sinn Féin, a party linked to the Irish Republican Army, and other groups linked to violence in Northern Ireland. Broadcasters got around it by having actors read transcripts of the same interviews.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein" }, { "slug": "1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended", "title": "Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight", "occurred_on": "1981-12-13", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PL", "country_name": "Poland", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "PL", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "wojciech-jaruzelski", "leader_name": "Wojciech Jaruzelski", "issue_of_the_day": "Poland's Solidarity trade union movement had grown into a mass challenge to Communist Party rule through 1980 and 1981, and Jaruzelski's government imposed martial law to suppress the movement and the independent press associated with it.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1983-07-22", "outcome_note": "Martial law was formally lifted on July 22, 1983, though reduced press controls in Poland continued until the fall of Communist rule in 1989.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 27, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland, cutting phone and telex lines, suspending nearly all newspapers, and interning thousands of people, most Solidarity trade union journalists among them, within days.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended" }, { "slug": "1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship", "title": "Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press controls", "occurred_on": "1968-08-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "CZ", "country_name": "Czechia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "CZ", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-dubcek", "leader_name": "Alexander Dubček", "issue_of_the_day": "Czechoslovakia's Prague Spring reforms, including eased press controls, had alarmed the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, who invaded to reverse the liberalization before it could spread further.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1989-11-01", "outcome_note": "Formal press controls in Czechoslovakia ended with the Velvet Revolution of November 1989, which brought down Communist Party rule.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 11, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/country-czechia" }, "era": "1960s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia on August 20-21, 1968 to end the Prague Spring, a period of liberalization under Alexander Dubček that had included the lifting of press controls. In the invasion's aftermath, the new leadership reimposed government controls of the press.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship" }, { "slug": "1938-spain-franco-press-law", "title": "Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press Law", "occurred_on": "1938-04-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "ES", "country_name": "Spain", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "ES", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "credential_control", "insult_and_defamation_laws", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "francisco-franco", "leader_name": "Francisco Franco", "issue_of_the_day": "Franco's Nationalist forces were still fighting Spain's civil war in April 1938 and used the new Press Law to consolidate direct control over which newspapers could exist and who could work as a journalist within them.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1977-04-01", "outcome_note": "Spain abolished prior press controls by decree in April 1977, after Franco's 1975 death, ahead of the 1978 constitution that guaranteed freedom of the press.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 29, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "While Spain's civil war continued, the Nationalist government led by Francisco Franco enacted a Press Law in April 1938 requiring government permission to found a newspaper, work as a journalist or direct a paper, alongside continued pre-publication press controls and years-long prison terms for vaguely defined offenses.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-spain-franco-press-law" }, { "slug": "1933-germany-editors-law", "title": "Nazi Germany's Editors Law bars Jewish journalists from the press and puts editors under state direction", "occurred_on": "1933-10-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "DE", "country_name": "Germany", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "DE", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "credential_control", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "adolf-hitler", "leader_name": "Adolf Hitler", "issue_of_the_day": "Hitler's government, in power only since January 1933, was consolidating control over German public life and moved within months to bring newspapers and their editors directly under state and party direction.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1945-05-08", "outcome_note": "The Editors Law and the Reich Press Chamber ended with Nazi Germany's defeat and unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 14, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Nine months after Adolf Hitler became chancellor, Germany's Schriftleitergesetz, or Editors Law, required journalists to register with a new state-controlled Reich Press Chamber and barred non-Aryans from the profession, while directing editors to omit anything judged harmful to the Reich's standing.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-germany-editors-law" }, { "slug": "1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship", "title": "Portugal's Salazar government formally establishes press controls under a new constitution", "occurred_on": "1933-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "PT", "country_name": "Portugal", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "PT", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "antonio-salazar", "leader_name": "António de Oliveira Salazar", "issue_of_the_day": "Salazar's government was consolidating the Estado Novo behind a new 1933 constitution, and used the moment to formalize a system of press controls it had for years denied operating.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1974-04-25", "outcome_note": "Portugal's press controls apparatus ended with the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, which overthrew the Estado Novo.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 10, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Portugal's government, led by Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, had restricted the press since a 1926 military coup while officially denying it did so. In 1933, alongside a new constitution promising freedom of expression, the government openly established formal press controls for the first time.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship" }, { "slug": "1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship", "title": "Soviet Russia creates Glavlit, a central office to review all printed material before publication", "occurred_on": "1922-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-lenin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Lenin", "issue_of_the_day": "The new Soviet government, having just consolidated power after years of revolution and civil war, sought a single, centrally controlled system to replace the uncoordinated military and civilian press controls bodies it had inherited.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "1989-01-01", "outcome_note": "Glavlit's authority over publishing was still largely intact through the 1980s, though its standards were relaxed from 1988 under Gorbachev's glasnost policy before its 1991 dissolution.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1920s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "In 1922, under Vladimir Lenin's government, Soviet Russia created Glavlit, a single agency with final authority to review newspapers, books, plays and even posters before they could be printed or performed. By 1930 no publication in the Soviet Union could appear without its approval.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship" } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=europe&level=national&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.json?continent=europe&level=national", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.md?continent=europe&level=national" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }