Turkish media watchdog bans opposition TV channel from broadcasting for 3 days

Turkey’s media watchdog RTÜK has banned dissident TV channel TELE1 from broadcasting for three days on the alleged grounds of “discriminating language, religion and race.”

Wednesday October 19 2022 04:28 pm

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Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed broadcasting ban for three days for dissident TV channel TELE1 on the grounds of “discriminating language, religion and race,” RTÜK opposition member İlhan Taşçı on Oct. 19 announced.

“RTÜK decided by majority vote to close the screen of TELE1 channel for three days on the grounds that it broadcasts ‘by discriminating language, religion and race.’ The next step is to completely end the broadcasting of the channel! It is democracy that has been murdered,” Taşcı said while announcing the ban.

“RTÜK based its decision for broadcasting the remarks of Workers’ Party (TİP) lawmaker Sera Kadıgil who said ‘Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) is a political Islamist tool in its current form.’ The aim is to darken the screens on the way to the elections, to prevent different voices and the opposition's solution proposals from being heard!” Taşçı added.

RTÜK, Tele1 kanalının 1 yıl içerisinde 2 kez 6112 sayılı yasanının 8/1/b bendindeki “dil,din,ırk ayrımı gözeterek yayın yaptığı” gerekçesiyle 3 gün ekranının kapatılmasına oyçokluğuyla karar verdi. Bir sonraki aşama kanalın yayın hayatına son verilmesi! Katledilen demokrasidir.1
— İlhan Taşcı (@ilhantasci) October 19, 2022

Another RTÜK opposition member Okan Konuralp said that TELE1 will be shut down by RTÜK if it receives a similar penalty by February 2023.

RTÜK, TİP Milletvekili Sera Kadıgil’in Diyanet ve İman Hatiplerle ilgili sözleri nedeniyle TELE1’e 3 gün yayın durdurma cezası verdi.
Karar, TELE1’i yayın lisansını kaybetme aşamasına getirdi. Şubat 2023’e kadar benzer bir ceza alması halinde, TELE1 RTÜK eliyle kapatılacak. (1)
— Okan Konuralp (@okonuralp) October 19, 2022

Taşcı and Konuralp stated they voted against the ban.