Incidents: shutdowns and blocking 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.
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
4 incidents match this view.
Country: Belarus, RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180 Czechia, RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180 Poland, RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180 Russia, RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180
Continent: Europe
Tactic: Shutdowns and blocking (4) Detention and violence (2) Insult and defamation laws (1) Prior restraint (1)
Stage: Punish (1) Silence (3)
Outcome: Sustained (2) Reversed (2)
Level: National (4)
Head of government: Alexander Dubček Alexander Lukashenko Vladimir Putin Wojciech Jaruzelski
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 4, 2022 | Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prison | Russia (RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180) | Insult and defamation laws | Vladimir Putin | Sustained |
| May 18, 2021 | Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist' | Belarus (RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180) | Shutdowns and blocking | Alexander Lukashenko | Sustained |
| December 13, 1981 | Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight | Poland (RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180) | Shutdowns and blocking | Wojciech Jaruzelski | Reversed (July 22, 1983) |
| August 21, 1968 | Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press press controls | Czechia (RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180) | Prior restraint | Alexander Dubček | Reversed (November 1, 1989) |
Incidents (RSS)Incidents (Atom)Incidents (JSON Feed)All incidents (CSV)