The record

Incidents in Asia, outcome sustained

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.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort

24 incidents match this view.

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Date	Incident	Country	Tactic	Head of government	Outcome
7 January 2026	Israel: ban on independent entry of foreign journalists into the Gaza Strip, 2023 to 2026	Israel (RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180)	Access bans		Sustained (25 February 2026)
15 December 2025	China (Hong Kong): conviction and 20-year sentence of the media owner Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law, 2025 to 2026	Hong Kong (RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180)	Detention and violence	John Lee	Sustained (8 February 2026)
29 January 2025	Pakistan amends cybercrime law to create new agency policing 'fake' online content	Pakistan (RSF 2026 rank: 153rd of 180)	Official labels	Shehbaz Sharif	Sustained
28 May 2024	Georgia 'foreign influence' law for media, 2024	Georgia (RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180)	Official labels	Irakli Kobakhidze	Sustained
22 February 2023	Türkiye: the broadcast regulator fines and suspends channels for earthquake coverage	Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)	Prior restraint	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Sustained (22 February 2023)
13 February 2023	Cambodia: Prime Minister Hun Sen orders Voice of Democracy's license revoked over one article	Cambodia (RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Hun Sen	Sustained (13 February 2023)
14 December 2021	Vietnam: journalist Pham Doan Trang is sentenced to nine years for anti-state "propaganda"	Viet Nam (RSF rank: not recorded)	Secrets and espionage laws	Nguyen Xuan Phuc	Sustained (14 December 2021)
24 June 2021	China (Hong Kong): Apple Daily closes after its assets are frozen under the national security law	Hong Kong (RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Carrie Lam	Sustained (24 June 2021)
8 March 2021	Myanmar junta revokes five outlets' licenses and raids newsrooms after coup	Myanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Min Aung Hlaing	Sustained
18 March 2020	China: press credentials and visas withheld from correspondents at three American newspapers	China (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180)	Credential control	Xi Jinping	Sustained (3 March 2021)
17 March 2020	China expels American journalists from three major U.S. newspapers	China (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180)	Expulsion and visa denial	Xi Jinping	Sustained
19 February 2020	China: three Wall Street Journal correspondents expelled over an opinion headline	China (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180)	Access bans	Xi Jinping	Sustained (19 February 2020)
7 November 2019	India: journalist Aatish Taseer's overseas citizenship revoked	India (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)	Expulsion and visa denial	Narendra Modi	Sustained (7 November 2019)
17 January 2019	Türkiye: Dutch freelance journalist Ans Boersma deported	Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)	Expulsion and visa denial	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Sustained (17 January 2019)
21 March 2018	Türkiye: Dogan Holding sells its media outlets to Demiroren	Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)	Funding and ownership pressure	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Sustained (21 March 2018)
4 September 2017	Cambodia's government forces the closure of The Cambodia Daily with a disputed multimillion-dollar tax bill	Cambodia (RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Hun Sen	Sustained (4 September 2017)
27 July 2016	Turkey closes more than 100 media outlets by decree after a failed coup attempt	Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Sustained (31 December 2016)
4 March 2016	Türkiye: court installs trustees at Zaman newspaper	Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)	Funding and ownership pressure	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Sustained (4 March 2016)
September 2013	Vietnam: Decree 72 restricts blogs to personal information	Viet Nam (RSF rank: not recorded)	Official labels	Nguyen Tan Dung	Sustained (1 September 2013)
14 June 1989	China expels foreign journalists and restricts coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests	China (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180)	Expulsion and visa denial	Li Peng	Sustained (1 January 1990)
1987	Malaysia: Printing Presses and Publications Act amended to bar court review of publishing permits, 1987	Malaysia (RSF 2026 rank: 95th of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Mahathir Mohamad	Sustained
July 1937	Japan: government requires clearance to publish war news under the Newspaper Law, 1937	Japan (RSF rank: not recorded)	Prior restraint	Fumimaro Konoe	Sustained
1926	Dutch East Indies: Colonial authorities end publication of the communist newspaper Mawa under Penal Code Article 153 bis, 1926	Indonesia (RSF rank: not recorded)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff	Sustained (1 January 1926)
9 March 1913	Ottoman Empire bars lawmakers and officials from editing newspapers and jails a leading editor	Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Mehmed V	Sustained (9 March 1913)

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