Two TV channels fined, 10 journalists stood trial in two weeks

Summary of interferences with press freedom between September 6-19, according to bianet's Media Monitoring Database:

Censorship

• Access to reports about a hotel in Bodrum, Muğla that was allegedly built on a forest area that had been burned in a 2007 fire was blocked by a penal judgeship.  

The reports had emerged after the massive wildfires in late July and early August, during which the hotel in question had also been evacuated.

Titanic Hotels denied the reports, saying that the hotel area has been designated as a tourism area since 1987 and it was not affected by the 2007 fire.

Access to two articles about the issue on the websites of daily BirGün and Sözcü were banned by the judgeship.

• Two web addresses of JinNews, an all-women news portal were banned by a judgeship on September 6. With its previous 35 web addresses banned by courts, Jin News is now online at jinnews36.xyz. https://mediamonitoringdatabase.org/access-block-to-jinnews-6/

Administrative penalties

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed administrative fines on two TV channels because of pundits' statement during live broadcasts.

With a majority of votes, the RTÜK imposed an administrative fine on Halk TV over the comments of journalist İsmail Saymaz about a woman who reacted against main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in Çorum province. Halk TV will pay three percent of its ad revenues as a fine. 

The RTÜK imposed three separate administrative fines on Tele 1 TV channel because of journalist Merdan Yanardağ's remarks about the RTÜK on "4 Soru 4 Cevap" (4 Questions 4 Answers) program; his use of "discriminatory remarks" in another part of the same program and "insults against the government, sports community and TRT". 

Trials

Trials of 10 journalists continued in two weeks.

Membership of a terrorist organization: Selman Keleş, Şahin Alpay, Mümtazer Türköne, Mehmet Özdemir, Ali Bulaç, Meşale Tolu

Marking a counterterrorism official as a target: Buse Söğütlü 

Insulting the president: Ahmet Sever 

Insulting a public official: Deniz Yücel, Onur Öncü  

(VK)