The record
Incidents in Asia, stage: punish, outcome unknown
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
CountryIndia, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180Iran, RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180Saudi Arabia, RSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180Türkiye, RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180
ContinentAsia
TacticDetention and violence 2Expulsion and visa denial 2Insult and defamation laws 1Surveillance and subpoenas 1Shutdowns and blocking 1
StagePunish 4
OutcomeUnknown 4
LevelNational 4
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 February 2026 | India: one-year prison sentence for the journalist Ravi Nair in a criminal defamation case, February 2026 | India (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180) | Insult and defamation laws | Narendra Modi | Unknown (10 February 2026) |
| 19 March 2025 | Türkiye: detention, injury and deportation of journalists covering protests, March 2025 | Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180) | Detention and violence | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | Unknown (2 April 2025) |
| 1 October 2018 | Saudi Arabia: spyware on an associate's phone precedes Jamal Khashoggi's killing by one day | Saudi Arabia (RSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180) | Surveillance and subpoenas | Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud | Unknown (1 October 2018) |
| 21 June 2009 | Iran expels a BBC correspondent and restricts foreign journalists after a disputed 2009 election | Iran (RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180) | Expulsion and visa denial | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Unknown |
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