SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian media on Thursday accused police who raided a newspaper of trying to intimidate journalists for writing stories that were politically embarrassing to the government.
Western Australia state police on Wednesday raided the Perth offices of the Sunday Times, which is published by Australia's largest newspaper publisher, Rupert Murdoch's News Limited.
Staff at the newspaper said 16 police officers sealed the building's exits as they executed search warrants during the four-hour raid, searching people's bags as they left, seizing documents and grilling editor Sam Weir.
They said police were searching for the source of a leak that led to a story alleging the state government planned to use 16 million dollars (14.9 million US) in taxpayer funds on an advertising campaign to help its re-election.
A group of Australia's major print, television and radio media organisations, called Australia's Right to Know, condemned the raid.
Group spokesman John Hartigan of News Limited said it was a "farcical and transparent attempt by a police force to punish journalists and whistleblowers if a government suffers political embarrassment."
"The raid yesterday is something we associate with Third World dictatorships or the old Eastern bloc. It is not something we should tolerate in Australia," he said.
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