{ "title": "Search: insult and defamation laws, stage: punish", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws&stage=punish", "filters": { "tactic": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "stage": "punish" }, "sort": "date", "count": 9, "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": "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": "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": "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": "TN", "label": "Tunisia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 137, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 137th 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" } }, { "value": "ZW", "label": "Zimbabwe", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 124, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } } ], "continent": [ { "value": "africa", "label": "Africa" }, { "value": "asia", "label": "Asia" }, { "value": "europe", "label": "Europe" } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "label": "Insult and defamation laws", "count": 9 }, { "value": "detention_and_violence", "label": "Detention and violence", "count": 3 }, { "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "label": "Secrets and espionage laws", "count": 1 }, { "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "label": "Shutdowns and blocking", "count": 1 }, { "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "label": "Funding and ownership pressure", "count": 1 } ], "stage": [ { "value": "punish", "label": "Punish", "count": 9 } ], "level": [ { "value": "national", "label": "National", "count": 9 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "sustained", "label": "Sustained", "count": 3 }, { "value": "unknown", "label": "Unknown", "count": 2 }, { "value": "ongoing", "label": "Ongoing", "count": 2 }, { "value": "upheld", "label": "Upheld by a court", "count": 1 }, { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 1 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "emmerson-mnangagwa", "label": "Emmerson Mnangagwa" }, { "value": "john-lee", "label": "John Lee" }, { "value": "kais-saied", "label": "Kais Saied" }, { "value": "narendra-modi", "label": "Narendra Modi" }, { "value": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "label": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan" }, { "value": "slobodan-milosevic", "label": "Slobodan Milosevic" }, { "value": "viktor-orban", "label": "Viktor Orban" }, { "value": "vladimir-putin", "label": "Vladimir Putin" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 8 }, { "value": "1990s", "label": "1990s", "count": 1 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1998", "label": "1998", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2022", "label": "2022", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2024", "label": "2024", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2025", "label": "2025", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 1 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 9 } ] }, "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": "2025-tunisia-record-journalists-jailed-decree-54", "title": "Tunisia's cybercrime decree pushes jailed-journalist count to highest since 1992", "occurred_on": "2025-01-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TN", "country_name": "Tunisia", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "TN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "kais-saied", "leader_name": "Kais Saied", "issue_of_the_day": "Decree-Law 54, issued by President Kais Saied in 2022 without a sitting parliament, criminalized spreading what authorities deem \"false news\" online, and by January 2025 had become the basis for jailing a record number of Tunisian journalists.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Decree-Law 54 remained in force and continued to produce new prosecutions, which CPJ said brought jailed-journalist numbers to a record.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 137, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 137th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The Committee to Protect Journalists found at least four journalists imprisoned under Tunisia's 2022 Decree-Law 54 on cybercrime as of January 2025, including radio hosts Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies, pushing the country's jailed-journalist count to its highest since 1992 under President Kais Saied.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-tunisia-record-journalists-jailed-decree-54" }, { "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": "2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact", "title": "Zimbabwe's Patriotic Act criminalizes journalists' contact with foreign governments", "occurred_on": "2023-07-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZW", "country_name": "Zimbabwe", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZW", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "emmerson-mnangagwa", "leader_name": "Emmerson Mnangagwa", "issue_of_the_day": "The bill passed weeks before Zimbabwe's August 2023 general election, at a time when the government accused foreign-linked civil-society and media figures of working to undermine it ahead of the vote.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2023-07-14", "outcome_note": "President Mnangagwa signed the bill into law despite CPJ's call for a veto; a court challenge by journalists did not block it.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 124, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Patriotic Act, which criminalizes meeting foreign governments or officials with intent to harm Zimbabwe's sovereignty, with penalties up to death for advocating armed intervention and up to ten years for supporting sanctions, weeks before the country's 2023 general election.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact" }, { "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": "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" }, { "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" } ], "other_results": [], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws&stage=punish&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.json?tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws&stage=punish", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.md?tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws&stage=punish" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }