The record
Incidents, stage: punish, outcome reversed
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
Customs officers seize Grayzone editor's phones at Virginia airport over Iran reporting
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal at Washington Dulles Airport, questioned him about his reporting trips to Iran, and seized both of his phones without his consent; the phones were returned…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Donald Trump · Reversed
Police raid Marion County Record newsroom and publisher's home in Kansas
Police in Marion, Kansas, led by Chief Gideon Cody, raided the Marion County Record's newsroom and publisher Eric Meyer's home, seizing computers, phones and files, on a warrant tied to an identity-theft investigation. The paper's 98-year-…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Laura Kelly · Reversed
Justice Department bars seizing reporters' phone and email records
After it came to light that the Trump-era Justice Department had secretly obtained the phone and email records of reporters at The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a policy barring prosec…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Joe Biden · Reversed
Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stop
After federal officers deployed to Portland used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on journalists and legal observers covering protests, the American Civil Liberties Union sued, and a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction b…
Access bans · Stage Punish · Head of government Donald Trump · Reversed
Morocco: investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware and he is later detained
Amnesty International confirmed Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone had been infected with Pegasus spyware, and Moroccan police separately detained him overnight days later after private material from his devices circulated…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Saadeddine Othmani · Reversed
Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in Minneapolis
Minnesota State Patrol troopers arrested CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew on live television while they covered protests after the police killing of George Floyd. Officers gave no reason before handcuffing the three men; Governo…
Detention and violence · Stage Punish · Head of government Tim Walz · Reversed
Australia's High Court invalidates warrant for raid on journalist Annika Smethurst
Australia's High Court ruled that the warrant the Australian Federal Police used to raid News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst's home over a national-security leak was invalid, and weeks later the AFP said it would not lay charges against…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Scott Morrison · Reversed
Australian Federal Police raid the national broadcaster over reporting on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan
Australian Federal Police spent hours searching the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) over its 2017 "Afghan Files" reports on alleged killings by Australian special forces that breached the laws of armed conflic…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Scott Morrison · Reversed
United States indicts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act
The United States indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on 17 counts under the Espionage Act over the 2010 publication of leaked military and diplomatic files, charges press-freedom groups said could expose ordinary national-security j…
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Donald Trump · Reversed
Philippines: Rappler's Maria Ressa arrested over cyber libel case
Philippine agents arrested Rappler executive editor Maria Ressa at the outlet's Manila office and held her overnight on a cyber libel case tied to a 2012 story, published before the cybercrime law used to charge her existed.
Detention and violence · Stage Punish · Head of government Rodrigo Duterte · Reversed
United States pursues New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony for years before dropping its demand for his source
For years, federal prosecutors sought New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony identifying a confidential source in a CIA leak case; the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, but Attorney General Eric Holder ultimately chose no…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Barack Obama · Reversed
Egypt arrests and later convicts three Al Jazeera journalists on terrorism-related charges
Months after the military removed President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian security forces arrested Al Jazeera English journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed at a Cairo hotel; courts later convicted them of aiding a banned orga…
Detention and violence · Stage Punish · Head of government Adly Mansour · Reversed
United States charges Army analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act for leaking to WikiLeaks
The U.S. Army charged intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act, a 1917 law against disclosing defense information, after she gave WikiLeaks, a website that publishes leaked documents, a large archive of military and dip…
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Barack Obama · Reversed
Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger
Serbia's parliament passed a Public Information Act allowing courts to levy same-day fines against newspapers for vaguely defined offenses against the state's interests, and independent papers were fined far more often and more heavily tha…
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Slobodan Milosevic · Reversed
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