Ladder: expulsion and visa denial
A government expels correspondents who report from its territory for news organisations based in other countries, refuses them visas or accreditation, or declines to renew their permission to stay. The effect is less independent reporting from inside the country.
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
Restrict
Limiting access or credentials for particular reporters or outlets: bans from briefings or buildings, pool changes, credential revocations, accreditation refusals.
| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 7, 2026 | Israel (RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180) | Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, the government of Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean coast between Israel and Egypt, independently; foreign correspondents have entered only on trips escorted by the Israeli… Full entry | Sustained (February 25, 2026) | 3 |
Punish
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.
| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 14, 1989 | China (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180) | Li Peng | After declaring martial law in Beijing on May 20, 1989, China's government imposed rigid restrictions on coverage of pro-democracy protests and, following the military's June 3-4 clearing of Tiananmen Square, expelled Associated Press correspondent John Pomfret and Voice of America correspondent Al… Full entry | Sustained (January 1, 1990) | 1 |
| June 21, 2009 | Iran (RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180) | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | After Iran's disputed June 2009 presidential election produced mass protests, the government expelled BBC correspondent Jon Leyne, revoked foreign press credentials, confined most foreign journalists to office-based reporting, and blocked access to numerous websites. Full entry | Unknown | 2 |
| September 1, 2017 | Venezuela (RSF 2026 rank: 159th of 180) | Nicolas Maduro | During 2016 to 2018 protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government, Venezuelan authorities expelled, deported or denied entry to dozens of foreign correspondents, most citing bureaucratic pretexts such as visa irregularities rather than a stated substantive reason. Full entry | Ongoing (January 25, 2018) | 1 |
| March 17, 2020 | China (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180) | Xi Jinping | China ordered American correspondents for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post to leave the country, in a reciprocal response to the Trump administration capping the number of Chinese state-media employees allowed in the United States, which itself followed China's ea… Full entry | Sustained | 1 |
| July 28, 2024 | Venezuela (RSF 2026 rank: 159th of 180) | Nicolas Maduro | In the two weeks after Venezuela's disputed July 28, 2024 presidential election, Reporters Without Borders documented 70 press-freedom violations, including nine detentions, nine expulsions of foreign correspondents and the suspension of the social media platform X, as President Nicolas Maduro's go… Full entry | Sustained | 2 |
| March 19, 2025 | Türkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180) | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | 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. Full entry | Unknown (April 2, 2025) | 1 |
Eliminate
Long imprisonment, killing, disappearance or forced exile of journalists, with state involvement as the sources state it.
| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Haiti (RSF 2026 rank: 107th of 180) | Jean-Claude Duvalier | Under President Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian authorities arrested and deported staff of Radio Haiti-Inter, an independent station that had reported critically on the government, forcing its director, journalist Jean Dominique, into exile in 1981. Full entry | Reversed (February 1, 1986) | 2 |
| February 15, 2023 | Nicaragua (RSF 2026 rank: 168th of 180) | Daniel Ortega | A Nicaraguan appeals court stripped 94 government opponents, including exiled journalists Carlos Fernando Chamorro and Alvaro Navarro, of their citizenship, days after President Daniel Ortega released 222 political prisoners to the United States and immediately declared them stateless too. Full entry | Sustained | 2 |
All ladders · Expulsion and visa denial: by country and year · The United States chapter