{
  "title": "Search: insult and defamation laws in Asia",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=asia&tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws",
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    "continent": "asia",
    "tactic": "insult_and_defamation_laws"
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  "sort": "date",
  "count": 4,
  "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": "HK",
        "label": "Hong Kong",
        "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"
        }
      },
      {
        "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": "TR",
        "label": "Türkiye",
        "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"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "asia",
        "label": "Asia"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
        "label": "Insult and defamation laws",
        "count": 4
      },
      {
        "value": "detention_and_violence",
        "label": "Detention and violence",
        "count": 2
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "punish",
        "label": "Punish",
        "count": 4
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 4
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "ongoing",
        "label": "Ongoing",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "unknown",
        "label": "Unknown",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "upheld",
        "label": "Upheld by a court",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "john-lee",
        "label": "John Lee"
      },
      {
        "value": "narendra-modi",
        "label": "Narendra Modi"
      },
      {
        "value": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
        "label": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "2020s",
        "label": "2020s",
        "count": 4
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "2022",
        "label": "2022",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2023",
        "label": "2023",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2024",
        "label": "2024",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2026",
        "label": "2026",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 4
      }
    ]
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  "results": [
    {
      "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",
      "country": "IN",
      "country_name": "India",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "IN",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "narendra-modi",
      "leader_name": "Narendra Modi",
      "issue_of_the_day": null,
      "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.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "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": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "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. The case concerned posts on the platform X between October 2020 and July 2021 and articles on Adani Watch, an Australian non-profit investigative site, that criticized the Adani Group, an Indian conglomerate. CIVICUS Monitor, which tracks civic freedoms by country, recorded the sentence among arrests, detentions and police summonses of Indian journalists in the same period.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-india-journalist-sentenced-adani-defamation"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2024-hong-kong-stand-news-editors-convicted-sedition",
      "title": "Hong Kong court convicts Stand News editors of sedition",
      "occurred_on": "2024-08-29",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "HK",
      "country_name": "Hong Kong",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "HK",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "john-lee",
      "leader_name": "John Lee",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The prosecution centered on opinion pieces and interviews Stand News had published examining Hong Kong's 2019 protests and the 2020 National Security Law, coverage prosecutors said smeared the security law and law enforcement.",
      "outcome": "upheld",
      "outcome_on": "2024-09-26",
      "outcome_note": "Both editors were sentenced in September 2024; no reversal of the convictions was reported.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "A Hong Kong court convicted former Stand News editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of conspiring to publish seditious material, under a colonial-era law, over articles the outlet had run before police raided its newsroom and it closed at the end of 2021.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-hong-kong-stand-news-editors-convicted-sedition"
    },
    {
      "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",
      "country": "TR",
      "country_name": "Türkiye",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "TR",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
      "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Sardan had written about an alleged Turkish intelligence report on judicial corruption, which the government's Center for Combating Disinformation denied existed; Halk TV's Dincer Gokce had reported on people released from prison who were later linked to further crimes.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "Two of the three journalists were released within a day; Tolga Sardan remained jailed pending trial.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "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 prisoners.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-turkiye-detains-journalists-disinformation-law"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2022-turkiye-sedef-kabas-insulting-president",
      "title": "Turkiye: journalist Sedef Kabas is arrested for a proverb about President Erdogan",
      "occurred_on": "2022-01-22",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "TR",
      "country_name": "Türkiye",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "TR",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
      "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Kabas made the comment during a political talk show discussion of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after also questioning his university diploma and alleging corruption in earlier social media posts.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": "2023-06-22",
      "outcome_note": "Kabas remained free pending appeal as of the sources reviewed, with a further trial on the same Article 299 charge continuing in mid-2023.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "ladder_note": "A journalist was jailed overnight and convicted under a criminal insult law for one televised remark about the head of state, with prosecution continuing over a year later.",
      "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"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Turkish journalist Sedef Kabas was arrested and later convicted under Article 299 of the penal code, which criminalizes insulting the president, after quoting a proverb about a palace becoming a stable during a televised discussion of Erdogan.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-turkiye-sedef-kabas-insulting-president"
    }
  ],
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
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}