On September 7, 2015, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (the Court) made public its decision (only available in Spanish and originally decided on June 22, 2015) in Granier and Others v. Venezuela, ordering Venezuela to reinstate the broadcasting license of news outlet Radio Caracas Television (RCTV). According to a news report, Venezuela’s former government under Hugo Chavez had refused to reissue the license, “on grounds it backed a brief 2002 coup and its frequency was needed for a public service channel.” In 2013, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a press release, saying it had filed an application with the Court to review Venezuela’s actions. According to IACHR, the decision not to renew RCTV’s license forced it to stop transmission, “causing an impact to the freedom of expression of its stockholders, directors and journalists.” The Court found that the actions of Venezuela’s government were an impermissible restriction on the right to freedom of expression motivated by the politically dissenting view presented in RCTV’s editorial line and intended to silence critics of the government. The Court further noted that an infringement on the freedom of expression obstructs public debate, which is vital to a democratic and pluralistic society. Accordingly, it stressed that the right to freedom of expression also has a social dimension, which had been affected when Venezuela’s citizens were deprived of RCTV’s editorial line.