Search in Europe, from 2020
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
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Russia: law on asset freezes and service denials for exiled "foreign agents", August 2026
On August 4, 2026, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, signed a law, adopted unanimously by the Russian parliament on July 24, 2026, that allows the authorities to freeze bank accounts, block property and vehicle sales and deny consul…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Hungary: a ruling-party mayor forcibly removes Telex reporters from a campaign event
A mayor from Hungary's ruling Fidesz party physically removed two Telex journalists from a campaign forum in a community center, covering their camera lens and pushing them out after they declined to leave what he called a closed event.
Access bans · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Ongoing
Serbian police strike, detain and disarm journalists covering anti-government protests
The Committee to Protect Journalists documented at least 28 Serbian journalists reporting being struck, detained, sprayed with chemical irritants or having their equipment destroyed by police between June and September 2025 while covering…
Detention and violence · Stage Punish · Head of government Aleksandar Vucic · Ongoing
Slovakia's parliament dissolves public broadcaster RTVS, replaces it with STVR
Slovakia's parliament, controlled by Prime Minister Robert Fico's coalition, dissolved public broadcaster RTVS and replaced it with a new entity, STVR, whose director is now chosen through a process giving parliament and the culture minist…
Licensing and closure of outlets · Stage Pressure · Head of government Robert Fico · Sustained
Hungary: National Sovereignty Protection Act and Sovereignty Protection Office, December 2023
On December 20, 2023, the president of Hungary, Katalin Novák, promulgated the National Sovereignty Protection Act, passed by the National Assembly, Hungary's parliament, during the government of the prime minister, Viktor Orbán. The law c…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Viktor Orban · Reversed
Russia: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years
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…
Detention and violence · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Reversed
Russia: journalist Maria Ponomarenko is sentenced to six years for reporting on a Mariupol strike
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 M…
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut sentenced to eight years
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 priso…
Detention and violence · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Alexander Lukashenko · Reversed
Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut is sentenced to eight years for inciting hatred
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 exchan…
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Alexander Lukashenko · Reversed
Russia: journalist Ivan Safronov is sentenced to 22 years for treason
A Russian court sentenced military correspondent Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison for treason, accusing him of spying for a foreign state, in a case his supporters linked to his 2019 reporting on Russian arms sales to Egypt.
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Ongoing
Russia: a Moscow court suspends Novaya Gazeta's print license
A Moscow court suspended the print license of Novaya Gazeta, whose editor Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, after the media regulator Roskomnadzor said the paper had not provided documents about a 2006 change of ownership.
Licensing and closure of outlets · Stage Silence · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Russia: entry bans, visa restrictions and bureau closures for foreign correspondents
Over several months in 2022, Russian authorities closed a Canadian broadcaster's Moscow bureau, barred dozens of named British and Australian journalists from entering the country, and suspended simplified visa rules for European journalis…
Access bans · Stage Punish · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Russia: CBC/Radio-Canada bureau closed and journalists' visas cancelled
Russian authorities ordered the Canadian broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada's Moscow bureau closed and cancelled its journalists' visas and accreditation, part of a wave of expulsions and non-renewals of foreign correspondents after the invasion…
Expulsion and visa denial · Stage Punish · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Belarus: Deutsche Welle and other outlets labeled 'extremist'
A Minsk court declared all output from German broadcaster Deutsche Welle "extremist," alongside a local newspaper and a Russian blogger's videos, making it a crime to produce, store or share the labeled material, as a former correspondent…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Alexander Lukashenko · Sustained
Russia: regulator blocks BBC Russian, Deutsche Welle and other outlets
Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access nationwide to the websites of BBC Russian, Deutsche Welle, Meduza, Voice of America's Russian service and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty within days of invading Ukraine, alongside new p…
Shutdowns and blocking · Stage Silence · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prison
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 th…
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Hungary: investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware
Amnesty International found forensic traces of Pegasus spyware on the phone of Direkt36 investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi, who covers Hungarian national security and diplomacy, as part of the wider Pegasus Project investigation.
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Ongoing
Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist'
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 aft…
Shutdowns and blocking · Stage Silence · Head of government Alexander Lukashenko · Sustained
Russia: independent outlet Meduza designated a 'foreign agent'
Russia's Justice Ministry labeled the independent news site Meduza and outlet PASMI "foreign agents," a status requiring constant public disclosure, quarterly reports and audits, and carrying up to two years in prison for noncompliance, wh…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Poland: state oil company Orlen buys the Polska Press newspaper group
Poland's state-controlled oil company PKN Orlen completed the purchase of Polska Press, a group of 20 regional newspapers reaching millions of readers, from its German owner, over objections from Poland's human rights commissioner.
Funding and ownership pressure · Stage Silence · Head of government Mateusz Morawiecki · Sustained
Hungary: Klubradio loses its terrestrial broadcast license over its tender application
Hungary's Media Council ended Klubradio's decades-old terrestrial broadcast license, citing errors in its renewal application, after the station had built a following as one of the country's few remaining independent voices.
Licensing and closure of outlets · Stage Silence · Head of government Viktor Orban · Upheld by a court
Belarus: accreditation withdrawn from 17 journalists working for foreign outlets
Belarus's government revoked the accreditation of at least 17 journalists working for foreign outlets, including the BBC, Reuters, the Associated Press, Radio Liberty, AFP and Deutsche Welle, as they covered protests after a disputed presi…
Access bans · Stage Punish · Head of government Alexander Lukashenko · Sustained
Hungary: editor fired and staff resign at Index.hu
Index.hu, Hungary's most-read independent news site, fired editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull weeks after he warned that a change in ownership threatened its independence. Most of the newsroom resigned within days.
Funding and ownership pressure · Stage Pressure · Head of government Viktor Orban · Sustained
Hungary criminalizes false coronavirus information and grants Orban decree powers
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 fo…
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Unknown