{ "title": "Ladder: detention and violence, in Asia", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence?continent=asia", "filters": { "continent": "asia" }, "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.", "tactic": { "slug": "detention_and_violence", "name": "Detention and violence", "definition": "Arrest, detention, prosecution, imprisonment, physical harm or killing of journalists, where police, soldiers, officials or others acting for a government carried out, ordered or authorised the act. Harm by private people is recorded only when a government actor was involved.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/detention_and_violence" }, "focal_case": "US", "count": 15, "stages": [ { "stage": "punish", "name": "Punish", "definition": "Legal or physical action against individual journalists or sources: subpoenas and record seizures, prosecutions, arrests, detention, expulsions, visa denials, assault where a government actor is involved.", "rungs": [ { "slug": "2019-philippines-arrests-ressa", "title": "Philippines: Rappler's Maria Ressa arrested over cyber libel case", "occurred_on": "2019-02-13", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "punish", "focal_case": false, "country": "PH", "country_name": "Philippines", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 114, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "rodrigo-duterte", "leader_name": "Rodrigo Duterte", "what_was_done": "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.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2019-02-14", "outcome_note": "Ressa was released on bail the morning after her arrest; the underlying cyber libel case continued separately.", "ladder_note": "Philippine agents arrested an outlet's executive editor at her own newsroom over a story published years before the cybercrime law used to charge her existed; United States detentions in the record ended without charges filed.", "sources_count": 3, "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-philippines-arrests-ressa" }, { "slug": "2023-turkiye-detains-journalists-disinformation-law", "title": "Turkish authorities detain three journalists under 'disinformation' law", "occurred_on": "2023-11-01", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "punish", "focal_case": false, "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 163, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "what_was_done": "Turkish authorities detained three journalists, jailing columnist Tolga Sardan pending trial, under a 2022 law criminalizing the spread of disinformation, after the government's own disinformation-fighting body disputed their reporting on a leaked intelligence document and a story about released pr…", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Two of the three journalists were released within a day; Tolga Sardan remained jailed pending trial.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-turkiye-detains-journalists-disinformation-law" }, { "slug": "2025-bangladesh-journalists-attacked-interim-government", "title": "Journalists beaten in Bangladesh in separate incidents as interim government drafts new cyber laws", "occurred_on": "2025-02-03", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "punish", "focal_case": false, "country": "BD", "country_name": "Bangladesh", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 152, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 152nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "muhammad-yunus", "leader_name": "Muhammad Yunus", "what_was_done": "On a single day in February 2025, groups of men beat at least eight journalists in two separate incidents in rural Bangladesh while they investigated a medical-negligence tip and a land dispute; the incidents came as the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus drafted new cyber ordinances rights g…", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "No arrests were reported in the incidents described, and the proposed cyber ordinances remained under review.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 1, "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-bangladesh-journalists-attacked-interim-government" }, { "slug": "2025-turkiye-detains-and-deports-journalists-covering-protests", "title": "Türkiye: detention, injury and deportation of journalists covering protests, March 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-03-19", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "punish", "focal_case": false, "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 163, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "what_was_done": "After the detention of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, on March 19, 2025, protests spread in Türkiye, and between March 19 and March 28, 2025, the authorities detained at least 13 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organization in New York.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": "2025-04-02", "outcome_note": "CPJ's report of 2025-04-02 describes the restrictions as continuing; the outcomes for individual journalists are not recorded.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 1, "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-turkiye-detains-and-deports-journalists-covering-protests" }, { "slug": "2026-india-journalist-sentenced-adani-defamation", "title": "India: one-year prison sentence for the journalist Ravi Nair in a criminal defamation case, February 2026", "occurred_on": "2026-02-10", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "punish", "focal_case": false, "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 157, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "what_was_done": "On February 10, 2026, a court in India sentenced the investigative journalist Ravi Nair to one year in prison and a fine of 5,000 rupees (about US$55) for criminal defamation, an offence under which a statement that damages someone's reputation can lead to a fine or prison sentence.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": "2026-02-10", "outcome_note": "Sentenced on 2026-02-10; no appeal or ruling on appeal appears in the sources cited.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-india-journalist-sentenced-adani-defamation" } ] }, { "stage": "silence", "name": "Silence", "definition": "Removing outlets or channels from the public sphere: closures, licence withdrawals, forced sales, blocking and shutdowns, prior restraint, nationalisation.", "rungs": [ { "slug": "1913-ottoman-empire-press-law-bars-officials-from-editing-newspapers", "title": "Ottoman Empire bars lawmakers and officials from editing newspapers and jails a leading editor", "occurred_on": "1913-03-09", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "silence", "focal_case": false, "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 163, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "mehmed-v", "leader_name": "Mehmed V", "what_was_done": "In March 1913 the Ottoman government amended its 1909 press law, barring members of parliament and state officials from serving as newspaper editors and applying the ban retroactively to every periodical already in print.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1913-03-09", "outcome_note": "The March 1913 amendment and its retroactive ban on lawmakers and officials editing newspapers remained the law under the Committee of Union and Progress government.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1913-ottoman-empire-press-law-bars-officials-from-editing-newspapers" }, { "slug": "1972-philippines-marcos-martial-law-media-closures", "title": "Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial law", "occurred_on": "1972-09-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "silence", "focal_case": false, "country": "PH", "country_name": "Philippines", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 114, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "ferdinand-marcos", "leader_name": "Ferdinand Marcos", "what_was_done": "President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and the next day ordered the military to take over nearly every newspaper, radio and television station in the Philippines, jailing prominent publishers and editors and requiring government clearance for whatever remained.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1986-02-25", "outcome_note": "Marcos was removed from power in the People Power Revolution of February 22-25, 1986, ending martial-law controls on the Philippine press.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "prior_restraint", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1972-philippines-marcos-martial-law-media-closures" }, { "slug": "1980-south-korea-chun-doo-hwan-press-purge", "title": "South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controls", "occurred_on": "1980-07-31", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "silence", "focal_case": false, "country": "KR", "country_name": "South Korea", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 47, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "chun-doo-hwan", "leader_name": "Chun Doo-hwan", "what_was_done": "Under General Chun Doo-hwan's martial-law government, South Korean authorities ordered newsrooms in 1980 to purge journalists who had resisted press controls or joined a May sit-in strike for press freedom, and closed 172 periodicals, dismissing roughly 2,000 journalists in total.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1987-06-01", "outcome_note": "South Korea's June 1987 democracy movement led to direct presidential elections and an easing of press controls; a 1986 leak of secret press guidelines had already embarrassed the government.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1980-south-korea-chun-doo-hwan-press-purge" }, { "slug": "1988-burma-slorc-press-scrutiny", "title": "Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing power", "occurred_on": "1988-09-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "silence", "focal_case": false, "country": "MM", "country_name": "Myanmar", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 166, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "saw-maung", "leader_name": "Saw Maung", "what_was_done": "After crushing the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, Burma's new military government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, tightened an existing pre-publication press controls board and raised penalties for unauthorized publishing to seven years in prison, while denying any press controls existe…", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "1989-01-01", "outcome_note": "The Press Scrutiny Board's pre-publication press controls remained fully in force at the end of 1989 and continued operating for decades afterward.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "prior_restraint" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-burma-slorc-press-scrutiny" }, { "slug": "2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses", "title": "Myanmar junta revokes five outlets' licenses and raids newsrooms after coup", "occurred_on": "2021-03-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "silence", "focal_case": false, "country": "MM", "country_name": "Myanmar", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 166, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "min-aung-hlaing", "leader_name": "Min Aung Hlaing", "what_was_done": "Weeks after seizing power, Myanmar's military junta revoked the operating licenses of five independent media outlets covering protests against the coup and raided two of their newsrooms, seizing computers and files; journalists from the outlets were later arrested and charged under a broadened pena…", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The five outlets' licenses were not restored; CPJ counted at least 32 journalists still imprisoned as of July 2021.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses" } ] }, { "stage": "eliminate", "name": "Eliminate", "definition": "Long imprisonment, killing, disappearance or forced exile of journalists, with state involvement as the sources state it.", "rungs": [ { "slug": "2015-azerbaijan-sentences-ismayilova", "title": "Azerbaijan: investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova sentenced to 7.5 years", "occurred_on": "2015-09-01", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "eliminate", "focal_case": false, "country": "AZ", "country_name": "Azerbaijan", "continent": "asia", "rsf": null, "leader_slug": "ilham-aliyev", "leader_name": "Ilham Aliyev", "what_was_done": "A Baku court convicted investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova on business and tax charges and sentenced her to seven and a half years in prison, in a case CPJ said was payback for her reporting on official corruption.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2016-05-25", "outcome_note": "Azerbaijan's Supreme Court converted her sentence to a suspended term and ordered her released after about 538 days in custody.", "ladder_note": "Azerbaijan imprisoned an investigative reporter for over a year on charges connected to her reporting on the president's family's business holdings; no United States case in the record has produced a multi-year sentence.", "sources_count": 3, "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2015-azerbaijan-sentences-ismayilova" }, { "slug": "2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act", "title": "Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre", "occurred_on": "2018-09-03", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "eliminate", "focal_case": false, "country": "MM", "country_name": "Myanmar", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 166, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "aung-san-suu-kyi", "leader_name": "Aung San Suu Kyi", "what_was_done": "A Myanmar court sentenced Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act after police handed them classified documents at a dinner shortly before their arrest, while they were investigating the killing of Rohingya Muslim villagers.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2019-05-07", "outcome_note": "President Win Myint pardoned and released Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on May 7, 2019, after 511 days in prison, as part of a mass amnesty.", "ladder_note": "Both reporters were pardoned in May 2019 after 511 days in prison.", "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act" }, { "slug": "2018-saudi-arabia-khashoggi-killed-consulate", "title": "Saudi Arabia's government kills journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside its Istanbul consulate", "occurred_on": "2018-10-02", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "eliminate", "focal_case": false, "country": "SA", "country_name": "Saudi Arabia", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 176, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "king-salman", "leader_name": "Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud", "what_was_done": "Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul; the CIA concluded the crown prince ordered the killing, which Saudi Arabia denied.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "A Saudi court convicted eight unnamed operatives and sentenced five to death, later commuted; the CIA's assessment that the crown prince ordered the killing did not result in charges against him.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-saudi-arabia-khashoggi-killed-consulate" }, { "slug": "2020-china-arrests-zhang-zhan", "title": "China: citizen journalist Zhang Zhan imprisoned for Wuhan reporting", "occurred_on": "2020-05-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "eliminate", "focal_case": false, "country": "CN", "country_name": "China", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 178, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "xi-jinping", "leader_name": "Xi Jinping", "what_was_done": "China detained citizen journalist Zhang Zhan for posting independent video reports from Wuhan during the early COVID-19 outbreak, later convicting her of \"picking quarrels and provoking trouble\" and, after her release, detaining her again years later.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Zhang completed her original four-year sentence and was released in 2024, but the sources reviewed report a second case against her the following year.", "ladder_note": "China imprisoned a citizen journalist for four years over her Wuhan reporting, then opened a second case against her after release; United States detention incidents in the record ended in release the same day.", "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-china-arrests-zhang-zhan" }, { "slug": "2025-hong-kong-convicts-jimmy-lai-under-national-security-law", "title": "China (Hong Kong): conviction and 20-year sentence of the media owner Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law, 2025 to 2026", "occurred_on": "2025-12-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "eliminate", "focal_case": false, "country": "HK", "country_name": "Hong Kong", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 140, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "john-lee", "leader_name": "John Lee", "what_was_done": "On December 15, 2025, the High Court of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with its own courts, convicted Jimmy Lai, founder of the newspaper Apple Daily, on two counts of \"conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces\" under the National Security Law, which China's central go…", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2026-02-08", "outcome_note": "Sentenced to 20 years in prison on 2026-02-08; no appeal is recorded in the sources cited.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 5, "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-hong-kong-convicts-jimmy-lai-under-national-security-law" } ] } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence?continent=asia&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence.json?continent=asia", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence.md?continent=asia" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }