# Incidents in Europe

Each incident is a dated action by a government, an official, a regulator, a court or a legislature that limited journalists' ability to gather or publish news.

Filters: country, continent, tactic, from, to, level, actor, leader, outlet, outcome, source_kind, has_case, plus q, sort (date, date_asc, country, tactic, relevance), per_page (up to 100), page and view (table or cards), as query parameters.

20 incidents match this view.

| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| August 4, 2026 | [Russia: law on asset freezes and service denials for exiled "foreign agents", August 2026](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-russia-new-law-targets-exiled-journalists-assets) | [Russia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ru) | [Official labels](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/disinformation_labeling) | [Vladimir Putin](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/vladimir-putin) | Sustained (August 4, 2026) |
| September 5, 2025 | [Serbian police strike, detain and disarm journalists covering anti-government protests](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-serbia-police-target-journalists-protests) | [Serbia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/rs) | [Detention and violence](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/detention_and_violence) | [Aleksandar Vucic](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/aleksandar-vucic) | Ongoing |
| June 20, 2024 | [Slovakia's parliament dissolves public broadcaster RTVS, replaces it with STVR](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-slovakia-dissolves-rtvs-creates-stvr) | [Slovakia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/sk) | [Licensing and closure of outlets](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/outlet_licensing) | [Robert Fico](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/robert-fico) | Sustained (July 4, 2024) |
| December 20, 2023 | [Hungary: National Sovereignty Protection Act and Sovereignty Protection Office, December 2023](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-hungary-sovereignty-protection-act) | [Hungary](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/hu) | [Official labels](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/disinformation_labeling) | [Viktor Orban](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/viktor-orban) | Reversed (June 30, 2026) |
| March 4, 2022 | [Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prison](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-criminalizes-fake-war-reports) | [Russia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ru) | [Insult and defamation laws](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/insult_and_defamation_laws) | [Vladimir Putin](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/vladimir-putin) | Sustained |
| May 19, 2021 | [Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist'](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-belarus-blocks-tutby-arrests-staff) | [Belarus](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/by) | [Shutdowns and blocking](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/shutdowns_and_blocking) | [Alexander Lukashenko](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/alexander-lukashenko) | Sustained |
| March 30, 2020 | [Hungary criminalizes false coronavirus information and grants Orban decree powers](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-hungary-coronavirus-fake-news-law) | [Hungary](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/hu) | [Insult and defamation laws](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/insult_and_defamation_laws) | [Viktor Orban](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/viktor-orban) | Unknown |
| December 31, 2015 | [Poland's new government gains power to replace public broadcaster leadership, and journalists are dismissed](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2015-poland-public-media-law-firings) | [Poland](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/pl) | [Funding and ownership pressure](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/funding_and_ownership_pressure) | [Beata Szydlo](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/beata-szydlo) | Sustained (December 31, 2019) |
| August 18, 2013 | [United Kingdom detains journalist's partner under terrorism law and oversees destruction of Guardian hard drives holding Snowden files](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-uk-miranda-detention-guardian-hard-drives) | [United Kingdom](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb) | [Surveillance and subpoenas](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/surveillance_and_subpoenas) | [David Cameron](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/david-cameron) | Upheld by a court (January 19, 2016) |
| December 21, 2010 | [Hungary's parliament gives a government-appointed media council power to fine outlets for unbalanced coverage](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2010-hungary-media-law-content-authority) | [Hungary](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/hu) | [Funding and ownership pressure](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/funding_and_ownership_pressure) | [Viktor Orban](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/viktor-orban) | Sustained (January 1, 2011) |
| October 7, 2006 | [Investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya is shot dead in Moscow; a former police officer is later convicted of organizing the killing](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2006-russia-politkovskaya-killed) | [Russia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ru) | [Detention and violence](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/detention_and_violence) | [Vladimir Putin](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/vladimir-putin) | Upheld by a court (June 9, 2014) |
| April 14, 2001 | [State-controlled Gazprom takes formal control of Russia's independent NTV television network](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2001-russia-gazprom-takeover-ntv) | [Russia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ru) | [Funding and ownership pressure](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/funding_and_ownership_pressure) | [Vladimir Putin](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/vladimir-putin) | Sustained (April 14, 2001) |
| October 20, 1998 | [Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines) | [Serbia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/rs) | [Insult and defamation laws](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/insult_and_defamation_laws) | [Slobodan Milosevic](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/slobodan-milosevic) | Reversed (January 1, 2001) |
| October 1988 | [United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein) | [United Kingdom](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb) | [Licensing and closure of outlets](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/outlet_licensing) | [Margaret Thatcher](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/margaret-thatcher) | Reversed (September 16, 1994) |
| December 13, 1981 | [Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended) | [Poland](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/pl) | [Shutdowns and blocking](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/shutdowns_and_blocking) | [Wojciech Jaruzelski](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/wojciech-jaruzelski) | Reversed (July 22, 1983) |
| August 21, 1968 | [Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press press controls](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship) | [Czechia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/cz) | [Prior restraint](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint) | [Alexander Dubček](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/alexander-dubcek) | Reversed (November 1, 1989) |
| April 1938 | [Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press Law](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-spain-franco-press-law) | [Spain](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/es) | [Credential control](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/credential_control) | [Francisco Franco](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/francisco-franco) | Reversed (April 1, 1977) |
| October 4, 1933 | [Nazi Germany's Editors Law bars Jewish journalists from the press and puts editors under state direction](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-germany-editors-law) | [Germany](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/de) | [Credential control](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/credential_control) | [Adolf Hitler](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/adolf-hitler) | Reversed (May 8, 1945) |
| 1933 | [Portugal's Salazar government formally establishes press press controls under a new constitution](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship) | [Portugal](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/pt) | [Prior restraint](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint) | [António de Oliveira Salazar](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/antonio-salazar) | Reversed (April 25, 1974) |
| 1922 | [Soviet Russia creates Glavlit, a central office to review all printed material before publication](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship) | [Russia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ru) | [Prior restraint](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint) | [Vladimir Lenin](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/vladimir-lenin) | Ongoing (January 1, 1989) |

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