RTÜK suspends program over comments on assassination in Northern Cyprus

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The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has suspended a program for five episodes and issued five administrative fines on Halk TV.

The program was probed because of the comments of its host about the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT), a paramilitary group founded in Cyprus, and the recent assassination of casino boss Halil Falyalı.

"Halil Falyalı used to introduce himself as a member of the Turkish Resistance Organization. The TMT was a... let's say, illegal and semi-legal entity known for assassinations on the Island and its close hinterland," Ayşenur Aslan said during a broadcast last week.

After Aslan faced a backlash on social media with senior government officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, publicly criticizing her, RTÜK Chair Ebubekir Şahin announced that they were probing the program.

In response to criticism, Aslan had said, "I uttered a sentence in the light of Falyalı murder yesterday. Not the economy, bills or unemployment... There is apparently not a more important or serious problem than me. If the Vice President, AK Party Spokesperson, Foreign Minister, the youth organization of that party, the MP of this party talk about you in a rage and if RTÜK takes action immediately, you come to find yourself important."

In 2021, the RTÜK issued 71 fines on five TV channels, including Halk TV, critical of the government while not issuing a single fine on pro-government outlets. (HA/VK)