The record
Incidents in Europe, outcome ongoing
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
Hungary: a ruling-party mayor forcibly removes Telex reporters from a campaign event
A mayor from Hungary's ruling Fidesz party physically removed two Telex journalists from a campaign forum in a community center, covering their camera lens and pushing them out after they declined to leave what he called a closed event.
Access bans · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Ongoing
Serbian police strike, detain and disarm journalists covering anti-government protests
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…
Detention and violence · Stage Punish · Head of government Aleksandar Vucic · Ongoing
Russia: journalist Ivan Safronov is sentenced to 22 years for treason
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.
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Ongoing
Hungary: investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware
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.
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Ongoing
Russia: outlet fined $338,000 under the foreign agents law
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.
Lawsuits against the press · Stage Pressure · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Ongoing
United Kingdom: Government requisitions newsprint and restricts rival newspapers during the 1926 General Strike
During the general strike called by the Trades Union Congress in May 1926, the British government requisitioned the country's available newsprint for its own newspaper, the British Gazette, and placed a provisional embargo on paper supplie…
Funding and ownership pressure · Stage Pressure · Head of government Stanley Baldwin · Ongoing
Glavlit created: Soviet censorship office, 1922
In 1922, Soviet Russia created Glavlit, a single agency that reviewed newspapers, books, plays and even posters before they could be printed or performed. It was set up under Vladimir Lenin's government with final authority over what could…
Prior restraint · Stage Silence · Head of government Vladimir Lenin · Ongoing
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