The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed heavy fines on Sözcü TV, TELE1, Halk TV and NOW TV for broadcasting and commenting on the Saraçhane protests and Özgür Özel’s statements.
Sözcü TV was given a 10-day broadcast suspension and a blackout, Halk TV and Tele 1 were given administrative fines at the upper limit and 5 program suspensions, while NOW TV was given a 2 percent administrative fine. If Sözcü TV receives another 10-day broadcast suspension, the most severe penalty before the license revocation, its license will be revoked.
The Board also imposed a 72-hour license requirement for Fatih Altaylı’s Youtube channel and Flu TV, which also broadcasts on Youtube.
The grounds and details of the sentences are as follows:
Sözcü TV was sentenced to a 10-day broadcast suspension for “inciting hatred and hostility among the public” through live broadcasts from İstanbul, Ankara and Izmir. If the channel receives a penalty under the same article, its license will be revoked. Following the notification, Sözcü TV’s screen will be blacked out 24/7 for 10 days. Only the text of RTÜK’s decision will be projected on a black background.
Sözcü TV was also fined 3 percent over CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır’s remarks against MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli.
RTÜK imposed a 5 percent administrative fine and 5 program suspensions on Halk TV for “inciting the people to hatred and hostility” in the Gündem Özel (Agenda Special) program on the grounds that CHP Chairman Özgür Özel’s criticism of Akın Gürlek and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Saraçhane rally and his call for a boycott were shown on the screen, and that the comments during broadcast live from İstanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Halk TV was also fined 3 percent over CHP Group Deputy Chair Ali Mahir Başarır’s statement “We will resist these coup plotters all together.”
Tele 1 was fined 5 percent and suspended 5 times for criticizing CHP Chairman Özgür Özel’s criticism of Akın Gürlek and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Saraçhane rally, and over comments made live from İstanbul, Ankara and Izmir in the Haber 13 program for “inciting the people to hatred and hostility.” The channel was also fined 3 percent for criticizing the RTÜK President in the Sabah Pusulası (Morning Compass) program.
Now TV, on the other hand, was given a 2 percent administrative fine for commenting in the program Orta Sayfa (Centerfold) that the procedures related to the Ekrem İmamoğlu investigation were “carried out against the law and upon instructions.”
