The Council did not specify what these insults are, stressing that the investigation was launched after complaints from viewers
The Supreme Radio and Television Council of Turkey (RTÜK) announced today the initiation of an investigation against six television networks who are considered to be friendly to the opposition, with the charge of “insulting the public” during the coverage of the second round of the presidential elections.
The Council did not specify what these insults are, stressing that the investigation was launched after complaints from television viewers.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Sunday’s election, extending his 20-year stay in power. His opponent, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu spoke of the “most unfair elections in years”, but without questioning the election result.
The RTÜK imposed penalties on four television stations in March for their election coverage. International human rights organizations and Turkish opposition parties accuse RTÜK of trying to silence opposition media by acting as a tool of the government.
“The government’s censorship machinery has gone to work,” Tele 1, one of the channels under investigation announced by the Broadcasting Council, said on its website.
RTÜK is also investigating Halk TV, KRT, TV5, Flash Haber and Szc TV, essentially all nationwide television stations that support the opposition.
The regulator “will not remain silent” in the face of broadcasters who “disrespect the national will, democracy, election results,” RTÜK president Ebübekir Sahin tweeted.
“During the election period, RTÜK acted as a mechanism of the government alliance to punish critical coverage and independent journalism,” said Gurkan Ozturan, coordinator of Media Freedom Rapid Response at the European Center for Press and Media. Freedom.
“This kind of media treatment is unacceptable and creates unfair conditions for competing parties and candidates, also casting a shadow on the results,” he added.
The Erdogan government directly or indirectly controls almost the entire conventional media landscape in the country. Yesterday, in fact, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which participated together with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), in a mission of observers to the Turkish elections, spoke in its report “of media bias and continued restrictions on freedom of expression,” which “created an uneven playing field and contributed to the creation of an unfair advantage” for Erdogan.
The broadcasting authority, headed by officials seen as close to the Turkish president, has extended powers to online media as well, following recent legislative changes.
Turkey ranks 165th out of 180 countries in press freedom according to Reporters Without Borders.
Source :Skai
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