A Polish court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from the country's Human Rights Ombudsman against oil company PKN Orlen's takeover of newspaper publisher Polska Press, the court said, confirming an earlier report by state-run news agency PAP.
PKN's purchase of Polska Press from a German media group has been criticised by opposition parties in Poland for being part of a drive by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government to increase control over the media and curb free speech.
PiS has said that foreign media companies have too much influence in Poland and distort public debate.