Police in Bosnia-Herzegovina on December 29 raided the Sarajevo offices of a news website, reportedly searching for information about how journalists there obtained a recording of a phone conversation that allegedly implicates the ruling Bosnian Serb party in political bribery.
The Klix.ba website said police confiscated laptops, hard drives from all of their computers, private mobile phones, USB memory flashsticks, and CDs.
Police said the raid was ordered by a Sarajevo court.
The ruling Independent Social Democrats narrowly maintained their majority in the parliament in October elections.
Prior to vote, Klix.ba posted a recording of what it purports is a senior official from the Independent Social Democrats admitting that her party paid bribes to two opposition lawmakers in order to ensure their support.
The raid sparked condemnation from media rights groups, including Bosnia's Journalist Union.
The OSCE called the raid "a grave and disproportionate intrusion into the journalists’ right to report about public interest issues."