{
  "title": "Search: insult and defamation laws in Europe",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=europe&tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "europe",
    "tactic": "insult_and_defamation_laws"
  },
  "sort": "date",
  "count": 6,
  "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": "BY",
        "label": "Belarus",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 165,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "HU",
        "label": "Hungary",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 74,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "RU",
        "label": "Russia",
        "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"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "RS",
        "label": "Serbia",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 104,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "ES",
        "label": "Spain",
        "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"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "europe",
        "label": "Europe"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
        "label": "Insult and defamation laws",
        "count": 6
      },
      {
        "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
        "label": "Shutdowns and blocking",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure",
        "label": "Funding and ownership pressure",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "credential_control",
        "label": "Credential control",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "prior_restraint",
        "label": "Prior restraint",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "punish",
        "label": "Punish",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "silence",
        "label": "Silence",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "eliminate",
        "label": "Eliminate",
        "count": 2
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 6
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "reversed",
        "label": "Reversed",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "sustained",
        "label": "Sustained",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "unknown",
        "label": "Unknown",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "alexander-lukashenko",
        "label": "Alexander Lukashenko"
      },
      {
        "value": "francisco-franco",
        "label": "Francisco Franco"
      },
      {
        "value": "slobodan-milosevic",
        "label": "Slobodan Milosevic"
      },
      {
        "value": "viktor-orban",
        "label": "Viktor Orban"
      },
      {
        "value": "vladimir-putin",
        "label": "Vladimir Putin"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "2020s",
        "label": "2020s",
        "count": 4
      },
      {
        "value": "1990s",
        "label": "1990s",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1930s",
        "label": "1930s",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "1938",
        "label": "1938",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1998",
        "label": "1998",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2020",
        "label": "2020",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2022",
        "label": "2022",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2023",
        "label": "2023",
        "count": 2
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 6
      }
    ]
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "slug": "2023-russia-ponomarenko-fake-news-sentence",
      "title": "Russia: journalist Maria Ponomarenko is sentenced to six years for reporting on a Mariupol strike",
      "occurred_on": "2023-02-15",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "RU",
      "country_name": "Russia",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "RU",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin",
      "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Ponomarenko's post concerned an airstrike that hit a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, in March 2022, a strike Russian authorities have denied responsibility for.",
      "outcome": "sustained",
      "outcome_on": "2023-02-15",
      "outcome_note": "Ponomarenko's six-year sentence and five-year journalism ban stood as of the source reviewed.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "A journalist received a six-year sentence and a five-year professional ban under a wartime false-information law for one social media post, not a fine or license action.",
      "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"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "A Russian court sentenced journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in prison and a five-year ban on journalism under a law criminalizing \"false information\" about the military, after she published a Telegram post about an airstrike on a Mariupol theater that Russia denies carrying out.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-russia-ponomarenko-fake-news-sentence"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence",
      "title": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut is sentenced to eight years for inciting hatred",
      "occurred_on": "2023-02-08",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "BY",
      "country_name": "Belarus",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "BY",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
      "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Poczobut had been a longtime commentator and producer for programs on the Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV and Polish public broadcaster TVP Polonia, reporting on Belarus for a Polish-speaking audience.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "2026-04-28",
      "outcome_note": "Poczobut was freed on April 28, 2026, as part of a prisoner exchange involving eight countries, before completing his eight-year sentence.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "A journalist was imprisoned for about five years on a hatred and sanctions charge, and his release required an eight-country prisoner exchange rather than any domestic legal process.",
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 165,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "reversed",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "A Belarusian court sentenced dual Belarusian-Polish journalist Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, and he was freed three years later as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2022-russia-criminalizes-fake-war-reports",
      "title": "Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prison",
      "occurred_on": "2022-03-04",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "RU",
      "country_name": "Russia",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "RU",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "insult_and_defamation_laws",
        "shutdowns_and_blocking"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin",
      "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The law followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and was aimed at reporting on the war that differed from the Russian defense ministry's official statements about casualties and military conduct.",
      "outcome": "sustained",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "The law remained in force; independent outlets that avoided closure continued operating from outside Russia.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Russia's parliament passed a law criminalizing the publication of information about the military that contradicts official statements, with penalties up to 15 years in prison, prompting Novaya Gazeta to pull its Ukraine war coverage and the BBC, CNN and other outlets to suspend operations inside Russia.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-criminalizes-fake-war-reports"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2020-hungary-coronavirus-fake-news-law",
      "title": "Hungary criminalizes false coronavirus information and grants Orban decree powers",
      "occurred_on": "2020-03-30",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "HU",
      "country_name": "Hungary",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "HU",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "viktor-orban",
      "leader_name": "Viktor Orban",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The law was passed as Hungary, like much of Europe, entered its first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020; the government said it needed emergency powers to respond quickly to the pandemic.",
      "outcome": "unknown",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "Hungary's government said it would end Orban's decree powers by June 20, 2020; the false-information provision's later fate was not established.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 74,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Hungary's parliament passed an emergency coronavirus law allowing prison terms of up to five years for spreading information the government deemed false or distorted about the pandemic, and let Prime Minister Viktor Orban rule by decree for an unlimited period.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-hungary-coronavirus-fake-news-law"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines",
      "title": "Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger",
      "occurred_on": "1998-10-20",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "RS",
      "country_name": "Serbia",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "RS",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "funding_and_ownership_pressure",
        "insult_and_defamation_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "slobodan-milosevic",
      "leader_name": "Slobodan Milosevic",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Independent Serbian media's coverage of NATO's escalating confrontation with Yugoslavia over Kosovo through 1998 and 1999.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "2000-10-01",
      "outcome_note": "The law was suspended after Milosevic lost power in October 2000 elections and a change of government in Serbia.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 104,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "1990s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Serbia's parliament passed a Public Information Act allowing courts to levy same-day fines against newspapers for vaguely defined offenses against the state's interests, and independent papers were fined far more often and more heavily than pro-government ones.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines"
    },
    {
      "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",
      "country": "ES",
      "country_name": "Spain",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "ES",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "credential_control",
      "tactics": [
        "credential_control",
        "insult_and_defamation_laws",
        "prior_restraint"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "francisco-franco",
      "leader_name": "Francisco Franco",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Franco's Nationalist forces were still fighting Spain's civil war in April 1938 and used the new Press Law to consolidate direct control over which newspapers could exist and who could work as a journalist within them.",
      "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.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "1930s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "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 vaguely defined offenses.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-spain-franco-press-law"
    }
  ],
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}