US Government has condemned the police raid on the Standard Group offices and called for the prosecution of those who carried out the acts.
In a statement, it asked the Government to respect the freedom of media and expression.
"These acts of thuggery have no place in an open democratic society. We deplore the current campaign of vilification and harassment of a selected media. Clearly, their intent is to intimidate journalists, restrict freedom of the Press and deny Kenyans their right to information and opinion," the statement from its embassy in Nairobi, read.
"We note that these attacks were preceded by threats directed against The Standard from representatives of the Government," it said.
"We call upon the Government of Kenya to disavow today’s actions, identify and discipline those responsible, and cease efforts to intimidate the media. The government must respect internationally accepted rules of freedom of Press and charge or release promptly those members of the Standard Group currently in detention," stated the embassy.
The heads of Mission of European countries based in Nairobi also condemned the raids, saying the action constituted an unacceptable attack on the freedom of the press.
They urged the Government to issue an immediate statement about the incident and state what actions the Government would take to investigate what eye-witness reports suggest were cases of assault, theft, unlawful destruction of property, kidnapping and harassment.
Universal Declaration of human rights
"Last night’s actions mark an unprecedented attack on the freedom of the media in Kenya and are in contradiction to the positive line taken by the Government on the issue of freedom of expression since the 2002 elections," the statement signed by the heads of 22 European missions and envoys from Australia, Canada, Japan, and Turkey.
The United Nations also called for the prosecution of the architects of the raid. United Nations Director General Klaus Toepfer said Press freedom was a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of human rights. Toepfer asked the Government to clarify circumstances leading to the raid on The Standard Group by masked police officers.
"Press freedom is central to a living democracy and has often been won through struggle and sacrifice throughout the world. Press freedom is central to human rights," he said.
Meanwhile, the East African Business Council has described the attack on the Standard Group as bizarre.
"It is indeed the saddest day for Kenya, the EAC region and the media world at large, in this era of Press freedom," said executive director Elly Manjale.
He said apart from going against the principle of democracy and freedom of the Press, the action sends bad signals to the business people and investors.
Cotu Secretary-General, Francis Atwoli, condemned the action by the police and the manner in which the raid was conducted.
Atwoli said while some individual journalists and media houses have on occasion been irresponsible, this did not warrant the kind of action meted out by the Government. "I will always stand up to defend the right of journalists like any other workers," he said.
