"Democracy dies in darkness" was the slogan chosen by Albanian journalists, politicians and activists for their protest outside the headquarters of private broadcaster News 24 on Monday.

The 24-hour news channel went off air at 7:36 a.m. on Saturday during a police operation, its signal replaced by colored vertical bars on television screens across Albania.

When the police arrived on Saturday morning, they surrounded the premises — the state-owned former Auto Tractor Plant complex — on the outskirts of Tirana and ordered staff to leave the building.

They were acting on a recent court ruling to return the property to the state.

Anila Jole has been with News 24 since its launch in 2002, starting out as a reporter, rising to the post of editor-in-chief and now acting as the station's director-general.

Jole called the move "arbitrary" and said it had been carried out "without prior written notice."

"Press freedom is the foundation of a democratic society, and when it is undermined, democracy itself is at risk," she said.

Focus Media Group, the owner of News 24 and several other media outlets including BalkanWeb, Panorama and Gazeta Shqiptare that used the premises, employs around 230 people.

It called the eviction "a blow to

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