Court halts five-day blackout of Halk TV

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The Ankara 3rd Administrative Court has given a ruling of stay of execution for the five-day "blackout" imposed by the Television and Radio Supreme Council (RTÜK) on pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV.

İlhan Taşcı, a member of the RTÜK Supreme Board from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has shared the ruling on his social media account, noting that the ruling has been given unanimously.

As announced by Taşçı on Twitter, the administrative court has halted the "blackout" as it has concluded that the blackout is a direct intervention in freedom of expression and citizens' right to be informed.

The "blackout" of RTÜK was taken to court by İlhan Taşçı and Okan Konuralp, who are both members of RTÜK Supreme Board from the CHP.

In its ruling of stay of execution, the Ankara 3rd Administrative Court has concluded, "It has been unanimously ruled that the stay of execution given for the suspension of the broadcast shall be final and it shall be deemed valid until another ruling is handed down by our court..."

The court has also noted that after the ruling is notified, an objection can be raised at the Ankara Regional Court of Administration within 7 days.

RTÜK’ün Halk TV’ye verdiği 5 günlük ekran karartma cezasına ilişkin açtığımız davada Ankara 3. İdare Mahkemesi, cezanın yürütmesinin durdurulmasına oy birliğiyle karar verdi... pic.twitter.com/bcMLGFtW6W

— İlhan Taşcı (@ilhantasci) July 28, 2020

What happened?

The RTÜK decided to "black out" Halk TV for 5 days and notified its decision to the broadcaster, indicating that it would be in effect as of August 1.

In response to this, RTÜK members İlhan Taşçı and Okan Konuralp took the decision to court, noting that the broadcast in question could not be considered an accusation against the state of the Republic of Turkey. They also said that it needed to be considered within freedom of expression.

The Ankara 4th Administrative Court also previously gave a ruling of stay of execution for the five-day "blackout" of TELE 1. (HA/SD)