Venezuela urged to halt censorship, intimidation of media

WASHINGTON, CMC – A major human rights group here has urged the Venezuelan government to end censorship and intimidation of media that challenge the official line regarding President Hugo Chávez’s health and inauguration. Human Rights Watch said on Saturday that, in recent days, the Venezuelan government has ordered a television station to cease transmission of spots that question its interpretation of the constitutional requirements for the re-elected president’s inauguration. The group said also said intelligence agents have searched the home and confiscated the computers of a blogger suspected of authoring tweets questioning official information provided about Chávez’s health.