{
  "title": "Ladder: prior restraint, in Europe",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint?continent=europe",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "europe"
  },
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "tactic": {
    "slug": "prior_restraint",
    "name": "Prior restraint",
    "definition": "An order or rule that stops something from being published before it appears, rather than penalising it afterwards. Examples are boards that must approve articles, books or films before release, court injunctions against publication, and rules that require officials to review material before it is published.",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint"
  },
  "focal_case": "US",
  "count": 9,
  "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": "1962-west-germany-spiegel-affair-raid-and-arrests",
          "title": "West Germany: police raid Der Spiegel's offices and arrest its editors over a defense article",
          "occurred_on": "1962-10-26",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "punish",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "DE",
          "country_name": "Germany",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 14,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "konrad-adenauer",
          "leader_name": "Konrad Adenauer",
          "what_was_done": "On October 26, 1962, West German police raided the offices of the news magazine Der Spiegel and arrested its publisher, Rudolf Augstein, after it reported that the armed forces were only \"conditionally prepared\" for a nuclear strike.",
          "outcome": "unknown",
          "outcome_on": null,
          "outcome_note": "The dispute over the defense minister's role helped bring on a coalition crisis, and Chancellor Adenauer's resignation took effect on October 15, 1963.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 4,
          "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
          "tactics": [
            "detention_and_violence",
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1962-west-germany-spiegel-affair-raid-and-arrests"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "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": "1914-britain-press-bureau-controls-wartime-newspaper-coverage",
          "title": "Britain's Official Press Bureau controls newspaper coverage of the First World War",
          "occurred_on": "1914-08-27",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "GB",
          "country_name": "United Kingdom",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 18,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "herbert-asquith",
          "leader_name": "Herbert Henry Asquith",
          "what_was_done": "Weeks after Britain entered the First World War, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith told the House of Commons that the Official Press Bureau was the sole channel through which the Admiralty, the War Office and other departments released naval and military information to newspapers.",
          "outcome": "sustained",
          "outcome_on": "1914-11-12",
          "outcome_note": "The Press Bureau continued controlling war news months later, when members of Parliament again raised complaints in the House of Commons on November 12, 1914.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
          "tactics": [
            "prior_restraint",
            "secrets_and_espionage_laws"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1914-britain-press-bureau-controls-wartime-newspaper-coverage"
        },
        {
          "slug": "1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship",
          "title": "Glavlit created: Soviet censorship office, 1922",
          "occurred_on": "1922-01-01",
          "occurred_on_precision": "year",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "RU",
          "country_name": "Russia",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 172,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "vladimir-lenin",
          "leader_name": "Vladimir Lenin",
          "what_was_done": "In 1922, Soviet Russia created Glavlit, a single agency that reviewed newspapers, books, plays and even posters before they could be printed or performed.",
          "outcome": "ongoing",
          "outcome_on": "1989-01-01",
          "outcome_note": "Glavlit's authority over publishing was still largely intact through the 1980s, though its standards were relaxed from 1988 under Gorbachev's glasnost policy before its 1991 dissolution.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
          "tactics": [
            "outlet_licensing",
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship"
        },
        {
          "slug": "1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship",
          "title": "Portugal's Salazar government formally establishes press controls under a new constitution",
          "occurred_on": "1933-01-01",
          "occurred_on_precision": "year",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "PT",
          "country_name": "Portugal",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 10,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "antonio-salazar",
          "leader_name": "António de Oliveira Salazar",
          "what_was_done": "Portugal's government, led by Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, had restricted the press since a 1926 military coup while officially denying it did so.",
          "outcome": "reversed",
          "outcome_on": "1974-04-25",
          "outcome_note": "Portugal's press controls apparatus ended with the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, which overthrew the Estado Novo.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
          "tactics": [
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship"
        },
        {
          "slug": "1938-spain-franco-press-law",
          "title": "Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press Law",
          "occurred_on": "1938-04-01",
          "occurred_on_precision": "month",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "ES",
          "country_name": "Spain",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 29,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "francisco-franco",
          "leader_name": "Francisco Franco",
          "what_was_done": "While Spain's civil war continued, the Nationalist government led by Francisco Franco enacted a Press Law in April 1938 requiring government permission to found a newspaper, work as a journalist or direct a paper, alongside continued pre-publication press controls and years-long prison terms for va…",
          "outcome": "reversed",
          "outcome_on": "1977-04-01",
          "outcome_note": "Spain abolished prior press controls by decree in April 1977, after Franco's 1975 death, ahead of the 1978 constitution that guaranteed freedom of the press.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 1,
          "tactic_primary": "credential_control",
          "tactics": [
            "credential_control",
            "insult_and_defamation_laws",
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-spain-franco-press-law"
        },
        {
          "slug": "1941-greece-directorate-general-press-radio",
          "title": "Greece: collaborationist government creates a Directorate-General for Press and Radio to review films and publications before release",
          "occurred_on": "1941-05-08",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "GR",
          "country_name": "Greece",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": null,
          "leader_slug": "georgios-tsolakoglou",
          "leader_name": "Georgios Tsolakoglou",
          "what_was_done": "The collaborationist government installed in occupied Greece created a Directorate-General for Press and Radio to take over and expand the prior review powers of the prewar Metaxas dictatorship, requiring official permission before films, plays, music, and publications could reach the public.",
          "outcome": "sustained",
          "outcome_on": null,
          "outcome_note": "The Directorate-General continued to license and review films and publications, with German Embassy oversight, through the years covered by its surviving archive.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
          "tactics": [
            "outlet_licensing",
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1941-greece-directorate-general-press-radio"
        },
        {
          "slug": "1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship",
          "title": "Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press controls",
          "occurred_on": "1968-08-21",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "CZ",
          "country_name": "Czechia",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 11,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/country-czechia"
          },
          "leader_slug": "alexander-dubcek",
          "leader_name": "Alexander Dubček",
          "what_was_done": "Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia on August 20-21, 1968 to end the Prague Spring, a period of liberalization under Alexander Dubček that had included the lifting of press controls.",
          "outcome": "reversed",
          "outcome_on": "1989-11-01",
          "outcome_note": "Formal press controls in Czechoslovakia ended with the Velvet Revolution of November 1989, which brought down Communist Party rule.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
          "tactics": [
            "prior_restraint",
            "shutdowns_and_blocking"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship"
        },
        {
          "slug": "1972-uk-sunday-times-thalidomide-injunction",
          "title": "United Kingdom court bars The Sunday Times from publishing an article on thalidomide",
          "occurred_on": "1972-11-17",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "GB",
          "country_name": "United Kingdom",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 18,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "edward-heath",
          "leader_name": "Edward Heath",
          "what_was_done": "On November 17, 1972, the Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench Division, part of England's High Court, granted the Attorney General's request for an injunction stopping The Sunday Times from publishing an article about the drug thalidomide, on the ground that it would amount to contempt of court.",
          "outcome": "reversed",
          "outcome_on": "1979-04-26",
          "outcome_note": "The European Court of Human Rights ruled on April 26, 1979, by eleven votes to nine, that the injunction against The Sunday Times had breached Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
          "tactics": [
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1972-uk-sunday-times-thalidomide-injunction"
        },
        {
          "slug": "1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein",
          "title": "United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices",
          "occurred_on": "1988-10-01",
          "occurred_on_precision": "month",
          "stage": "silence",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "GB",
          "country_name": "United Kingdom",
          "continent": "europe",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 18,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "margaret-thatcher",
          "leader_name": "Margaret Thatcher",
          "what_was_done": "Home Secretary Douglas Hurd directed British broadcasters in October 1988 not to air the voices of representatives of Sinn Féin, a party linked to the Irish Republican Army, and other groups linked to violence in Northern Ireland.",
          "outcome": "reversed",
          "outcome_on": "1994-09-16",
          "outcome_note": "The broadcasting ban was lifted on September 16, 1994, shortly after the Irish Republican Army's August 1994 ceasefire declaration.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 1,
          "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing",
          "tactics": [
            "outlet_licensing",
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "downloads": {
    "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint?continent=europe&format=csv",
    "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint.json?continent=europe",
    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint.md?continent=europe"
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}