More fines on newspapers, TV channels critical of government

Police response to Boğaziçi University students protesting on campus. (Photo: Dilek Şen / bianet)

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Two TV channels and a newspaper critical of the government have been given penalties by regulatory bodies over their news coverage and comments.

The Press Advertisement Institution (BİK), the agency responsible for placing public ads and notices in newspapers, fined Evrensel for referring to the police response to Boğaziçi University protesters as "attack" in a news article published on February 3.

Covering the protests started at the university following the appointment of a rector outside of its academic community in early January, the article is titled "Detention, ban and attack couldn't stop [the protests], the solidarity is growing."

The BİK concluded that the newspaper violated the Press Ethics Principles and banned it from receiving public ads for five days.

It said that referring to the police response as "attack" rather than "intervention" was intended to "create a negative perception about our security forces that are loyal to our Republic and people."

Evrensel appealed the decision, saying that the expressions in the article were within the boundaries of press freedom and the BİK violated the principle of impartiality by exercising judicial authority.

"Moreover, nitpicking a single word rather than the whole report and requesting a defense statement based on that is against the law, and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights," it said.

Established for financially supporting independent newspapers, the BİK distributes more than 400 million lira to newspapers all across the country and its ads are an important source of income for independent outlets.

In recent years, it has been increasingly using its authority to impose penalties on newspapers for violating ethical principles, especially on those critical of the government.

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RTÜK penalties

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed administrative monetary penalties on Halk TV and Tele1 TV over comments on various issues.

Talking about the reports that the president of religious affairs was hospitalized in an American hospital after contracting coronavirus, a pundit said during the "Medya Mahallesi" program on Halk TV that "My God might have told him 'American hospital' ... Our God always tells those to the government such places."

The RTÜK concluded that "the sarcastic expressions underestimating God" violated article 8/1-f of Law No 6112 on radio and television channels.

It also fined Halk TV over journalist Murat Ağırel's comments about former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek. During a program, Ağırel mentioned corruption allegations against Gökçek and his alleged ties to "Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ)" members.

The RTÜK concluded that Ağırel violated the principle of having respect for human dignity and privacy by mentioning allegations about which there were no legal decisions.

The broadcaster received another fine for pundit Levent Gültekin's comments about late Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, the founder of the political movement that preceded the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The council also imposed a penalty on Tele1 TV for pundit Merdan Yanardağ's comments about a late Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) member who was convicted of being involved in the 1978 killings of seven socialist students. (HA/VK)