{
  "title": "Search: detention and violence, stage: eliminate",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?tactic=detention_and_violence&stage=eliminate",
  "filters": {
    "tactic": "detention_and_violence",
    "stage": "eliminate"
  },
  "sort": "date",
  "count": 13,
  "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": "AR",
        "label": "Argentina",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 98,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "AZ",
        "label": "Azerbaijan",
        "rsf": null
      },
      {
        "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": "CN",
        "label": "China",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 178,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "ER",
        "label": "Eritrea",
        "rsf": null
      },
      {
        "value": "GT",
        "label": "Guatemala",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 128,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 128th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "HT",
        "label": "Haiti",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 107,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 107th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "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": "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": "NG",
        "label": "Nigeria",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 112,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 112th 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": "SA",
        "label": "Saudi Arabia",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 176,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "africa",
        "label": "Africa"
      },
      {
        "value": "asia",
        "label": "Asia"
      },
      {
        "value": "europe",
        "label": "Europe"
      },
      {
        "value": "north-america",
        "label": "North America"
      },
      {
        "value": "south-america",
        "label": "South America"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "detention_and_violence",
        "label": "Detention and violence",
        "count": 13
      },
      {
        "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
        "label": "Secrets and espionage laws",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "outlet_licensing",
        "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "expulsion_and_visa_denial",
        "label": "Expulsion and visa denial",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "prior_restraint",
        "label": "Prior restraint",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "eliminate",
        "label": "Eliminate",
        "count": 13
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 12
      },
      {
        "value": "state_or_province",
        "label": "State or province",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "reversed",
        "label": "Reversed",
        "count": 7
      },
      {
        "value": "ongoing",
        "label": "Ongoing",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "sustained",
        "label": "Sustained",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "unknown",
        "label": "Unknown",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "upheld",
        "label": "Upheld by a court",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "alejandro-giammattei",
        "label": "Alejandro Giammattei"
      },
      {
        "value": "alexander-lukashenko",
        "label": "Alexander Lukashenko"
      },
      {
        "value": "aung-san-suu-kyi",
        "label": "Aung San Suu Kyi"
      },
      {
        "value": "ilham-aliyev",
        "label": "Ilham Aliyev"
      },
      {
        "value": "isaias-afwerki",
        "label": "Isaias Afwerki"
      },
      {
        "value": "jean-claude-duvalier",
        "label": "Jean-Claude Duvalier"
      },
      {
        "value": "john-lee",
        "label": "John Lee"
      },
      {
        "value": "jorge-videla",
        "label": "Jorge Rafael Videla"
      },
      {
        "value": "king-salman",
        "label": "Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud"
      },
      {
        "value": "sani-abacha",
        "label": "Sani Abacha"
      },
      {
        "value": "vladimir-putin",
        "label": "Vladimir Putin"
      },
      {
        "value": "xi-jinping",
        "label": "Xi Jinping"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "2020s",
        "label": "2020s",
        "count": 5
      },
      {
        "value": "2010s",
        "label": "2010s",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "2000s",
        "label": "2000s",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "1990s",
        "label": "1990s",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1980s",
        "label": "1980s",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1970s",
        "label": "1970s",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "1976",
        "label": "1976",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1980",
        "label": "1980",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "1995",
        "label": "1995",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2001",
        "label": "2001",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2006",
        "label": "2006",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2015",
        "label": "2015",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2018",
        "label": "2018",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "2020",
        "label": "2020",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2023",
        "label": "2023",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "2025",
        "label": "2025",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 13
      }
    ]
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "slug": "2025-hong-kong-convicts-jimmy-lai-under-national-security-law",
      "title": "China (Hong Kong): conviction and 20-year sentence of the media owner Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law, 2025 to 2026",
      "occurred_on": "2025-12-15",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "HK",
      "country_name": "Hong Kong",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "HK",
      "level": "state_or_province",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "outlet_licensing",
        "secrets_and_espionage_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "john-lee",
      "leader_name": "John Lee",
      "issue_of_the_day": null,
      "outcome": "sustained",
      "outcome_on": "2026-02-08",
      "outcome_note": "Sentenced to 20 years in prison on 2026-02-08; no appeal is recorded in the sources cited.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "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": "On December 15, 2025, the High Court of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with its own courts, convicted Jimmy Lai, founder of the newspaper Apple Daily, on two counts of \"conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces\" under the National Security Law, which China's central government imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, and one count of \"conspiracy to publish seditious publications.\" On February 8, 2026, the court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison. Apple Daily shut down in June 2021 after its accounts were frozen and much of its top leadership was arrested. Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, called the charges \"bogus.\"",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-hong-kong-convicts-jimmy-lai-under-national-security-law"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2023-guatemala-convicts-zamora-money-laundering",
      "title": "Guatemala convicts investigative journalist Jose Ruben Zamora on money-laundering charge",
      "occurred_on": "2023-06-14",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "GT",
      "country_name": "Guatemala",
      "continent": "north-america",
      "jurisdiction": "GT",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "alejandro-giammattei",
      "leader_name": "Alejandro Giammattei",
      "issue_of_the_day": "El Periodico had published more than 120 investigations into government corruption since January 2020 before its forced closure in May 2023, shortly before Zamora's conviction.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "Zamora's case continued through appeals and changing custody arrangements; he remained in the criminal justice system.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 128,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 128th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "A Guatemalan court convicted El Periodico founder Jose Ruben Zamora of money laundering and sentenced him to six years in prison, months after his newspaper, known for investigating government corruption, was forced to close; press-freedom groups said the case was connected to his investigative reporting rather than the financial charge alone.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-guatemala-convicts-zamora-money-laundering"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich",
      "title": "Russia: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years",
      "occurred_on": "2023-03-29",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "RU",
      "country_name": "Russia",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "RU",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin",
      "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "2024-08-01",
      "outcome_note": "Gershkovich was freed in a prisoner exchange alongside RFE/RL editor Alsu Kurmasheva after 16 months in detention.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "Russia held a Wall Street Journal reporter for over a year on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, then sentenced him to sixteen years; United States detentions of journalists in the record have not led to years-long imprisonment on state charges.",
      "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": "reversed",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Russia arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in March 2023 on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, held him for about 15 months before a closed trial, and sentenced him to 16 years before releasing him in a prisoner exchange.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2023-belarus-sentences-poczobut",
      "title": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut sentenced to eight years",
      "occurred_on": "2023-02-08",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "BY",
      "country_name": "Belarus",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "BY",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
      "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "2026-04-28",
      "outcome_note": "Poczobut was freed after 1,860 days as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange; CPJ reported 22 other journalists remained imprisoned in Belarus at the time.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "Belarus sentenced a correspondent to eight years for reporting on its Polish minority and held him nearly five years before an exchange; comparable United States detentions in the record ended in hours, not years.",
      "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": "Belarus sentenced Polish-Belarusian correspondent Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, after holding him since March 2021. He was freed five years later in a multi-country prisoner exchange.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-sentences-poczobut"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2020-china-arrests-zhang-zhan",
      "title": "China: citizen journalist Zhang Zhan imprisoned for Wuhan reporting",
      "occurred_on": "2020-05-14",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "CN",
      "country_name": "China",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "CN",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "xi-jinping",
      "leader_name": "Xi Jinping",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "Zhang completed her original four-year sentence and was released in 2024, but the sources reviewed report a second case against her the following year.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "China imprisoned a citizen journalist for four years over her Wuhan reporting, then opened a second case against her after release; United States detention incidents in the record ended in release the same day.",
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 178,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "China detained citizen journalist Zhang Zhan for posting independent video reports from Wuhan during the early COVID-19 outbreak, later convicting her of \"picking quarrels and provoking trouble\" and, after her release, detaining her again years later.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-china-arrests-zhang-zhan"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2018-saudi-arabia-khashoggi-killed-consulate",
      "title": "Saudi Arabia's government kills journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside its Istanbul consulate",
      "occurred_on": "2018-10-02",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "SA",
      "country_name": "Saudi Arabia",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "SA",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "king-salman",
      "leader_name": "Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Jamal Khashoggi's Washington Post columns criticizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's consolidation of power and human-rights record.",
      "outcome": "unknown",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "A Saudi court convicted eight unnamed operatives and sentenced five to death, later commuted; the CIA's assessment that the crown prince ordered the killing did not result in charges against him.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 176,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2010s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul; the CIA concluded the crown prince ordered the killing, which Saudi Arabia denied.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-saudi-arabia-khashoggi-killed-consulate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act",
      "title": "Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre",
      "occurred_on": "2018-09-03",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "MM",
      "country_name": "Myanmar",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "MM",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "secrets_and_espionage_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "aung-san-suu-kyi",
      "leader_name": "Aung San Suu Kyi",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The Reuters investigation into the killing of ten Rohingya Muslim men and boys by Myanmar soldiers and local residents in Inn Din village, Rakhine State, in September 2017.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "2019-05-07",
      "outcome_note": "President Win Myint pardoned and released Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on May 7, 2019, after 511 days in prison, as part of a mass amnesty.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "Both reporters were pardoned in May 2019 after 511 days in prison.",
      "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": "2010s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "A Myanmar court sentenced Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act after police handed them classified documents at a dinner shortly before their arrest, while they were investigating the killing of Rohingya Muslim villagers.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2015-azerbaijan-sentences-ismayilova",
      "title": "Azerbaijan: investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova sentenced to 7.5 years",
      "occurred_on": "2015-09-01",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "AZ",
      "country_name": "Azerbaijan",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "AZ",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "ilham-aliyev",
      "leader_name": "Ilham Aliyev",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "2016-05-25",
      "outcome_note": "Azerbaijan's Supreme Court converted her sentence to a suspended term and ordered her released after about 538 days in custody.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "Azerbaijan imprisoned an investigative reporter for over a year on charges connected to her reporting on the president's family's business holdings; no United States case in the record has produced a multi-year sentence.",
      "rsf": null,
      "era": "2010s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "A Baku court convicted investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova on business and tax charges and sentenced her to seven and a half years in prison, in a case CPJ said was payback for her reporting on official corruption.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2015-azerbaijan-sentences-ismayilova"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2006-russia-politkovskaya-killed",
      "title": "Investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya is shot dead in Moscow; a former police officer is later convicted of organizing the killing",
      "occurred_on": "2006-10-07",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "RU",
      "country_name": "Russia",
      "continent": "europe",
      "jurisdiction": "RU",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin",
      "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Politkovskaya's investigative reporting on human-rights abuses in Chechnya and her criticism of the Russian government's conduct there.",
      "outcome": "upheld",
      "outcome_on": "2014-06-09",
      "outcome_note": "Courts convicted and sentenced five men, including former police officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, for organizing or carrying out the killing; who ordered it was never conclusively established in court.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "Who ordered the killing was never conclusively established in court.",
      "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": "2000s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Anna Politkovskaya, a Novaya Gazeta journalist known for reporting critical of Russia's conduct of the war in Chechnya, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building; a Moscow court later convicted a former police officer of organizing surveillance for her killers.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2006-russia-politkovskaya-killed"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2001-eritrea-jails-journalists-indefinitely",
      "title": "Eritrea: independent press closed and journalists jailed without trial",
      "occurred_on": "2001-09-18",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "ER",
      "country_name": "Eritrea",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "ER",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "isaias-afwerki",
      "leader_name": "Isaias Afwerki",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "As of the 2010 source reviewed, none of the journalists detained in 2001 had been charged, tried or publicly accounted for.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": "Eritrea jailed at least nineteen journalists without charge, trial or public acknowledgment of their fate after suspending its constitution, and has not accounted for several of them in over two decades; no United States detention in the record has approached that duration.",
      "rsf": null,
      "era": "2000s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Eritrea's government closed every private newspaper and jailed at least nineteen journalists, including Dawit Isaac of the paper Setit, without charge or trial in September 2001, after suspending the constitution. Several have never been publicly accounted for since.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2001-eritrea-jails-journalists-indefinitely"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1995-nigeria-abacha-journalists-tribunal",
      "title": "Nigeria's military government convicts journalists by special tribunal over coup-plot reporting",
      "occurred_on": "1995-07-27",
      "occurred_on_precision": "month",
      "country": "NG",
      "country_name": "Nigeria",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "NG",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "secrets_and_espionage_laws"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "sani-abacha",
      "leader_name": "Sani Abacha",
      "issue_of_the_day": "An alleged March 1995 coup plot against General Sani Abacha's military government, which the journalists had reported on.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "1998-06-15",
      "outcome_note": "The journalists were released in stages after General Abacha's death in June 1998 under his successor's government; their convictions were not vacated in the sources reviewed.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 112,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 112th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "1990s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "A special military tribunal convicted four Nigerian journalists as accessories to a supposed 1995 coup plot after they reported on it, sentencing them to lengthy prison terms with no right of appeal, under the military government of General Sani Abacha.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1995-nigeria-abacha-journalists-tribunal"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1981-haiti-duvalier-radio-haiti-inter-exile",
      "title": "Haiti's Duvalier government arrests and deports Radio Haiti-Inter staff, driving its director into exile",
      "occurred_on": "1980-11-28",
      "occurred_on_precision": "year",
      "country": "HT",
      "country_name": "Haiti",
      "continent": "north-america",
      "jurisdiction": "HT",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "expulsion_and_visa_denial"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "jean-claude-duvalier",
      "leader_name": "Jean-Claude Duvalier",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Radio Haiti-Inter had built a reputation for independent reporting critical of the Duvalier government at a time when most Haitian media avoided such coverage, drawing sustained official friction toward the station.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "1986-02-01",
      "outcome_note": "Jean Dominique returned to Haiti and to Radio Haiti-Inter in February 1986 after the fall of President-for-life Jean-Claude Duvalier's government.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 107,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 107th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "1980s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Under President Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian authorities arrested and deported staff of Radio Haiti-Inter, an independent station that had reported critically on the government, forcing its director, journalist Jean Dominique, into exile after security forces raided the station on November 28, 1980. He returned only after Duvalier's government fell in 1986.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1981-haiti-duvalier-radio-haiti-inter-exile"
    },
    {
      "slug": "1976-argentina-junta-press-decrees",
      "title": "Argentina's military junta threatens journalists with prison for reporting on its opponents",
      "occurred_on": "1976-03-24",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "AR",
      "country_name": "Argentina",
      "continent": "south-america",
      "jurisdiction": "AR",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
      "tactics": [
        "detention_and_violence",
        "prior_restraint"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "jorge-videla",
      "leader_name": "Jorge Rafael Videla",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Argentina's military had just overthrown the elected government and moved immediately to prevent reporting sympathetic to leftist groups it had outlawed or reporting it considered damaging to the armed forces' standing.",
      "outcome": "reversed",
      "outcome_on": "1983-12-10",
      "outcome_note": "Argentina returned to civilian, elected government under President Raúl Alfonsín in December 1983, ending the junta's press decrees.",
      "stage": "eliminate",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 98,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "1970s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Hours after seizing power on March 24, 1976, Argentina's military junta, led by General Jorge Videla, issued Communiqué No. 19, threatening up to 10 years in prison for reporting favorable to groups it called subversive. Hundreds of journalists were later detained, killed or forced into exile.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1976-argentina-junta-press-decrees"
    }
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