RTUK, the high office of the Turkish government that regulates media, issued a 5 percent administrative fine to the opposition TV station Tele1 and five program suspensions for allegedly “inciting hatred and hostility to society.” The channel was also fined 3 percent for a prominent journalist Uğur Dündar’s criticism of RTUK President Abubekir Sahin. The government censor organization doesn’t take journalists criticizing censors lightly. An extraordinary meeting of the RTUK Supreme Council also resulted in a 3 percent administrative fine for journalist Selçuk Tepeli’s criticism of Erdogan’s actions in the main story for allegedly preventing “free opinion in society.”
Censoring Institution in Turkey fines FOX TV and Tele1 TV
RTUK, the high office of the Turkish government that regulates media, issued a 5 percent administrative fine to the opposition TV station Tele1 and five program suspensions for allegedly “inciting hatred and hostility to society.” The channel was also fined 3 percent for a prominent journalist Uğur Dündar’s criticism of RTUK President Abubekir Sahin. The government censor organization doesn’t take journalists criticizing censors lightly. An extraordinary meeting of the RTUK Supreme Council also resulted in a 3 percent administrative fine for journalist Selçuk Tepeli’s criticism of Erdogan’s actions in the main story for allegedly preventing “free opinion in society.”
It was announced that the Supreme Council of Radio and Television (RTUK) would convene today (January 24th) with an extraordinary agenda of sanctions against Tele1 TV station for remarks that led to the arrest of journalist Sedef Kabaş. Without naming anybody, any office, or even any official, Kabaş had referenced a famous traditional saying in Turkey, “If a cow settles in a palace, the cow does not become a king; rather, the palace becomes a barn.” This remark upset the ruling party officials, and a media frenzy from top officials called for her punishment. The journalist was immediately detained from her home at night with a police raid and subsequently arrested. Later it was revealed that the judge who ordered her arrest was not qualified to do so at the time.
RTUK, the Turkish censoring institution, took part in the punishment, going after the TV station that aired the interview. The officials at RTUK claimed, “One cannot incite hatred and hostility to society or create feelings of hatred in society” for the fine they imposed upon the broadcasters.
RTUK fines Tele1 TV station 5 percent and suspends the broadcasting of the Democracy Arena program for five weeks
The censor institution didn’t stop there. In addition, RTUK issued a 5 percent administrative fine to Tele1 and five program suspension to the popular Democracy Arena program for allegedly “inciting hatred and hostility to society.” The channel was also fined 3 percent for another program, airing a famous opposition journalist Uğur Dündar’s criticism of RTUK President Abubekir Sahin.
As part of RTUK’s unanimous decision, Tele1’s Arena of Democracy program will be prevented from playing five future sessions. The program presenter, Ugur Dündar, will also not be able to make programs on TELE 1 or any other channel for a month. If the channel receives another penalty from section “8/1/b” of the law in 2022, the channel’s broadcast will be suspended for ten days. If the channel is fined for the third time on the same article, its license will be revoked.
FOX TV was fined 3 percent for the statements of Main News Host Selçuk Tepeli
An extraordinary meeting of the RTUK Supreme Council also resulted in a 3 percent administrative fine for Selçuk Tepeli’s criticism of Erdogan’s actions in the main story for allegedly preventing “free opinion in society.” The decisions were taken with a majority vote. Censor
#Tele1inYanındayız
After these decisions, the hashtag #Tele1inYanındayız became a trending topic on social media.
Sendika.Org News (MB)