Galatasaray TV host says dismissed over social media posts criticizing government

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A host for Galatasaray TV, the broadcaster of the İstanbul-based football giants, has said that he has been dismissed from his job because of social media posts criticizing the government in late 2022.

Releasing a video on YouTube, Serbay Şenkal said he had delayed his statement about the issue because of Galatasaray's troubled start to the football season and the February 6 earthquakes.

He had worked for the broadcaster for 10 years.

A notice of termination he had received from the company "clearly stated that" he had been fired because of his political social media posts, said the journalist.

Şenkal went on to show his posts criticizing the government over the economic crisis and migration policies.

"Of course, what I wrote was criticism of the AK Party and [President] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It's my most natural right to criticize Erdoğan. If he is the president, he is obliged to bear my criticism and give an ear to it," he said.

Addressing the president, he remarked, "Where are your conscience and compassion? I'm so sad for you that you don't have the slightest compassion and conscience. It's your mentality that caused me to be dismissed from my job."

In the last year, at least 88 journalists lost their jobs due to disputes over the editorial lines of the outlets they worked for.

CLICK - BİA Media Monitoring 2022 Annual Report: Journalists Shackled Ahead of Elections

(HA)