# Ladder: prior restraint, in Europe

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.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

Narrow with ?stage= (restrict, pressure, punish, silence, eliminate), ?continent=, ?from= and ?to= (year or date).

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 26 October 1962 | [Germany](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/de) ([RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Konrad Adenauer](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/konrad-adenauer) | 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. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1962-west-germany-spiegel-affair-raid-and-arrests) | Unknown | 4 |

## Silence

Removing outlets or channels from the public sphere: closures, licence withdrawals, forced sales, blocking and shutdowns, prior restraint, nationalisation.

| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 27 August 1914 | [United Kingdom](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb) ([RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Herbert Henry Asquith](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/herbert-asquith) | 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. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1914-britain-press-bureau-controls-wartime-newspaper-coverage) | Sustained (12 November 1914) | 2 |
| 1922 | [Russia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ru) ([RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Vladimir Lenin](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/vladimir-lenin) | In 1922, Soviet Russia created Glavlit, a single agency that reviewed newspapers, books, plays and even posters before they could be printed or performed. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship) | Ongoing (1 January 1989) | 2 |
| 1933 | [Portugal](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/pt) ([RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [António de Oliveira Salazar](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/antonio-salazar) | 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. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship) | Reversed (25 April 1974) | 2 |
| April 1938 | [Spain](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/es) ([RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Francisco Franco](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/francisco-franco) | 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… [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-spain-franco-press-law) | Reversed (1 April 1977) | 1 |
| 8 May 1941 | [Greece](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gr) (RSF rank: not recorded) | [Georgios Tsolakoglou](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/georgios-tsolakoglou) | 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. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1941-greece-directorate-general-press-radio) | Sustained | 2 |
| 21 August 1968 | [Czechia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/cz) ([RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/country-czechia)) | [Alexander Dubček](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/alexander-dubcek) | 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. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship) | Reversed (1 November 1989) | 2 |
| 17 November 1972 | [United Kingdom](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb) ([RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Edward Heath](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/edward-heath) | 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. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1972-uk-sunday-times-thalidomide-injunction) | Reversed (26 April 1979) | 2 |
| October 1988 | [United Kingdom](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb) ([RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Margaret Thatcher](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/margaret-thatcher) | 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. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein) | Reversed (16 September 1994) | 1 |

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