Search in Asia, stage: eliminate
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
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China (Hong Kong): conviction and 20-year sentence of the media owner Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law, 2025 to 2026
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 force…
Detention and violence · Stage Eliminate · Head of government John Lee · Sustained
China: editor Dong Yuyu is sentenced to seven years for espionage over meals with a diplomat
A Chinese court sentenced Guangming Daily editor and columnist Dong Yuyu to seven years in prison for espionage after his 2022 arrest while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat, a case his son called purely political.
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Xi Jinping · Ongoing
Iran: journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi are sentenced to 13 and 12 years
Iranian journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who broke the story of Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, were sentenced to 13 and 12 years respectively on national-security-linked charges tied to their reporting, and later re…
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Ebrahim Raisi · Ongoing
Vietnam: journalist Pham Doan Trang is sentenced to nine years for anti-state "propaganda"
A Vietnamese court sentenced Pham Doan Trang, founding editor of the independent outlet The Vietnamese, to nine years in prison for distributing anti-state "propaganda" under a national-security provision of the country's penal code.
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Nguyen Xuan Phuc · Sustained
China: citizen journalist Zhang Zhan imprisoned for Wuhan reporting
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…
Detention and violence · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Xi Jinping · Ongoing
Saudi Arabia's government kills journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside its Istanbul consulate
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 Arabi…
Detention and violence · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud · Unknown
Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre
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 investiga…
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Aung San Suu Kyi · Reversed
Azerbaijan: investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova sentenced to 7.5 years
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.
Detention and violence · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Ilham Aliyev · Reversed
Thailand: magazine editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk is sentenced to 11 years under the lese-majeste law
A Thai court sentenced magazine editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk to 11 years in prison under Article 112 of the penal code, the country's lese-majeste law barring insults to the royal family, over two articles he published under a pen name.
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Yingluck Shinawatra · Upheld by a court
North Korea: American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are sentenced to hard labor
A North Korean court sentenced Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee to twenty years of "reform through hard labor" after their arrest for crossing the border from China without authorization, and both were released months later f…
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Kim Jong Il · Reversed