{
  "title": "Search: shutdowns and blocking in Europe",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=europe&tactic=shutdowns_and_blocking",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "europe",
    "tactic": "shutdowns_and_blocking"
  },
  "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": "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": "CZ",
        "label": "Czechia",
        "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"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "PL",
        "label": "Poland",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 27,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th 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"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "europe",
        "label": "Europe"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
        "label": "Shutdowns and blocking",
        "count": 4
      },
      {
        "value": "detention_and_violence",
        "label": "Detention and violence",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
        "label": "Insult and defamation laws",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "prior_restraint",
        "label": "Prior restraint",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "punish",
        "label": "Punish",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "silence",
        "label": "Silence",
        "count": 3
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 4
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "sustained",
        "label": "Sustained",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "reversed",
        "label": "Reversed",
        "count": 2
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "alexander-dubcek",
        "label": "Alexander Dubček"
      },
      {
        "value": "alexander-lukashenko",
        "label": "Alexander Lukashenko"
      },
      {
        "value": "vladimir-putin",
        "label": "Vladimir Putin"
      },
      {
        "value": "wojciech-jaruzelski",
        "label": "Wojciech Jaruzelski"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "2020s",
        "label": "2020s",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "1980s",
        "label": "1980s",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1960s",
        "label": "1960s",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "1968",
        "label": "1968",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1981",
        "label": "1981",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2021",
        "label": "2021",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2022",
        "label": "2022",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 4
      }
    ]
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "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": "2021-belarus-blocks-tutby-arrests-staff",
      "title": "Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist'",
      "occurred_on": "2021-05-18",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "BY",
      "country_name": "Belarus",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "BY",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "shutdowns_and_blocking"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
      "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Tut.by had continued reporting on the government's response to protests following the disputed August 2020 presidential election that kept Alexander Lukashenko in power; authorities revoked the outlet's official media registration in January 2021.",
      "outcome": "sustained",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "Tut.by remained blocked and its former staff continued reporting from exile as Zerkalo; the criminal proceedings against staff continued.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Belarusian authorities blocked access to Tut.by, the country's most-read independent news site, searched its offices in three cities and arrested at least eleven staff, including its editor-in-chief, citing alleged media-law violations after the site had already lost its official media status.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-belarus-blocks-tutby-arrests-staff"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended",
      "title": "Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight",
      "occurred_on": "1981-12-13",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "PL",
      "country_name": "Poland",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "PL",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "shutdowns_and_blocking"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "wojciech-jaruzelski",
      "leader_name": "Wojciech Jaruzelski",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Poland's Solidarity trade union movement had grown into a mass challenge to Communist Party rule through 1980 and 1981, and Jaruzelski's government imposed martial law to suppress the movement and the independent press associated with it.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "1983-07-22",
      "outcome_note": "Martial law was formally lifted on July 22, 1983, though reduced press press controls in Poland continued until the fall of Communist rule in 1989.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 27,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "1980s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "On December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland, cutting phone and telex lines, suspending nearly all newspapers, and interning thousands of people, most Solidarity trade union journalists among them, within days.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship",
      "title": "Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press press controls",
      "occurred_on": "1968-08-21",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "CZ",
      "country_name": "Czechia",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "CZ",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
      "tactics": [
        "prior_restraint",
        "shutdowns_and_blocking"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "alexander-dubcek",
      "leader_name": "Alexander Dubček",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Czechoslovakia's Prague Spring reforms, including eased press press controls, had alarmed the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, who invaded to reverse the liberalization before it could spread further.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "1989-11-01",
      "outcome_note": "Formal press press controls in Czechoslovakia ended with the Velvet Revolution of November 1989, which brought down Communist Party rule.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "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"
      },
      "era": "1960s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "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 press controls. In the invasion's aftermath, the new leadership reimposed government press controls of the press.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship"
    }
  ],
  "other_results": [],
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
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}