In 2002, a short-lived coup d'état against the government of Hugo Chavez rocked Venezuela. A television station, Radio Caracas Television ("RCTV"), reported on the events as they occurred. RCTV criticized President Chavez, while highlighting and interviewing participants to the coup. When, five years later, in 2007, RCTV sought to renew its broadcast license, the government denied it, accusing the station of inciting the 2002 coup. The State immediately shut down RCTV, seized the television station's equipment and occupied its studios, and established a State-sponsored television channel on RCTV's airwaves. RCTV was unable to obtain redress through the State's domestic courts. The Court found that these actions violated the American Convention on Human Rights.
Case Summary: Granier et al. (Radio Caracas Television) v. Venezuela, Case Summary