{
  "title": "Search: prior restraint in Asia, stage: silence",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=asia&tactic=prior_restraint&stage=silence",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "asia",
    "tactic": "prior_restraint",
    "stage": "silence"
  },
  "sort": "date",
  "count": 5,
  "page": 1,
  "pages": 1,
  "per_page": 50,
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "facets": {
    "country": [
      {
        "value": "IN",
        "label": "India",
        "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"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "IL",
        "label": "Israel",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 116,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "MM",
        "label": "Myanmar",
        "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"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "PH",
        "label": "Philippines",
        "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"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "asia",
        "label": "Asia"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "prior_restraint",
        "label": "Prior restraint",
        "count": 5
      },
      {
        "value": "detention_and_violence",
        "label": "Detention and violence",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "outlet_licensing",
        "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
        "label": "Shutdowns and blocking",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "silence",
        "label": "Silence",
        "count": 5
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 5
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "ongoing",
        "label": "Ongoing",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "reversed",
        "label": "Reversed",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "unknown",
        "label": "Unknown",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "benjamin-netanyahu",
        "label": "Benjamin Netanyahu"
      },
      {
        "value": "david-ben-gurion",
        "label": "David Ben-Gurion"
      },
      {
        "value": "ferdinand-marcos",
        "label": "Ferdinand Marcos"
      },
      {
        "value": "indira-gandhi",
        "label": "Indira Gandhi"
      },
      {
        "value": "saw-maung",
        "label": "Saw Maung"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "1970s",
        "label": "1970s",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "2010s",
        "label": "2010s",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1980s",
        "label": "1980s",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1940s",
        "label": "1940s",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "1948",
        "label": "1948",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1972",
        "label": "1972",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1975",
        "label": "1975",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1988",
        "label": "1988",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2010",
        "label": "2010",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 5
      }
    ]
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "slug": "2010-israel-prisoner-x-gag-order",
      "title": "Israel: a court bars any mention of the 'Prisoner X' case",
      "occurred_on": "2010-06-01",
      "occurred_on_precision": "month",
      "country": "IL",
      "country_name": "Israel",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "IL",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
      "tactics": [
        "prior_restraint"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "benjamin-netanyahu",
      "leader_name": "Benjamin Netanyahu",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The order concerned the custody of a man later identified as Ben Zygier, an Australian-Israeli detained on suspicion of harming state security, whose case Israeli outlets could not report on for years under the order.",
      "outcome": "unknown",
      "outcome_on": "2010-06-01",
      "outcome_note": "The source reviewed, a 2013 annual survey, documents the order's existence and Israel's wider military review system without stating when the domestic order was resolved.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": "A court order barred any domestic mention of a named prisoner's case or of the order itself, backed by a standing system requiring advance approval of security reporting.",
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 116,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2010s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "An Israeli judge ordered Israeli media barred from any mention of a prisoner held under a false identity, or of the order itself, applying a system under which security-related stories must be reviewed and cleared by the military before publication.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2010-israel-prisoner-x-gag-order"
    },
    {
      "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",
      "country": "MM",
      "country_name": "Myanmar",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "MM",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "prior_restraint"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "saw-maung",
      "leader_name": "Saw Maung",
      "issue_of_the_day": "SLORC had just taken power after crushing the August 1988 pro-democracy uprising, sometimes called 8888 for its start date, and used the Press Scrutiny Board to prevent coverage sympathetic to the uprising or critical of military rule.",
      "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.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "1980s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "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 existed.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-burma-slorc-press-scrutiny"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1975-india-emergency-press-censorship",
      "title": "India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 Emergency",
      "occurred_on": "1975-06-26",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "IN",
      "country_name": "India",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "IN",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
      "tactics": [
        "outlet_licensing",
        "prior_restraint"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "indira-gandhi",
      "leader_name": "Indira Gandhi",
      "issue_of_the_day": "A court had found Prime Minister Gandhi guilty of election malpractice shortly before the Emergency began, and her government cited threats to internal stability in declaring the state of emergency and imposing press controls the next day.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "1977-03-21",
      "outcome_note": "Gandhi ended the Emergency and lifted press controls on March 21, 1977, shortly before her party lost the general election that followed.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "1970s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency on June 25, 1975, and the next day her government imposed pre-press controls on every Indian newspaper, requiring official clearance before publication and later forcibly merging the country's news agencies into one.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1975-india-emergency-press-censorship"
    },
    {
      "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",
      "country": "PH",
      "country_name": "Philippines",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "PH",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "prior_restraint",
        "shutdowns_and_blocking"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "ferdinand-marcos",
      "leader_name": "Ferdinand Marcos",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Marcos had declared martial law citing threats from Communist insurgency and civil unrest, and moved immediately to eliminate independent media coverage that might question the declaration or his expanding powers.",
      "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.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "1970s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "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.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1972-philippines-marcos-martial-law-media-closures"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1948-israel-military-censorship-established",
      "title": "Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the press",
      "occurred_on": "1948-01-01",
      "occurred_on_precision": "year",
      "country": "IL",
      "country_name": "Israel",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "IL",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
      "tactics": [
        "prior_restraint"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "david-ben-gurion",
      "leader_name": "David Ben-Gurion",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Israel's 1948 declaration of independence and the war that followed created an immediate perceived security need, which the retained British-era Press Ordinance and later Editors' Committee arrangement were meant to address by keeping military information out of print.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": "1989-01-01",
      "outcome_note": "The military press-review system built on the 1948 Press Ordinance and the 1953 Editors' Committee remained in force through the 1980s and beyond.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 116,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "1940s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "When Israel declared independence in 1948 under Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, it retained a British Mandate-era Press Ordinance giving the military the power to review and restrict publications on security grounds, later formalized through an Editors' Committee that let most Israeli newspapers self-restrict security matters.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1948-israel-military-censorship-established"
    }
  ],
  "other_results": [],
  "downloads": {
    "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=asia&tactic=prior_restraint&stage=silence&format=csv",
    "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.json?continent=asia&tactic=prior_restraint&stage=silence",
    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.md?continent=asia&tactic=prior_restraint&stage=silence"
  },
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}