HDP files a criminal complaint against pro-government TV channel

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The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has filed a criminal complaint against the ATV, a pro-government TV channel, for replacing the leaves and stars in its logo with hand grenades and bullets and putting a party-closure seal on the logo during the main news bulletin on December 12.

The party has also lodged a complaint against the ATV by appealing to the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) Supreme Board.

The logo of the party was distorted while reporting the statements of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli, who argued that the HDP should be closed. In a press statement regarding the news, the HDP has condemned the distortion, noting that the ATV "publicly targeted the HDP and its voters and committed a hate crime in the name of broadcasting."

Sharing a description of its logo, the HDP has said, "Our emblem is the depiction of a tree, whose trunk consists of two purple hands and which has green leaves and various stars, embracing all segments of society."

Petition submitted to the RTÜK

The statement of the party has also announced that HDP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chairs Meral Danış Beştaş and Saruhan Oluç appealed to the RTÜK Supreme Board regarding the issue and demanded that the necessary sanctions be imposed on the broadcaster.

In its petition to the RTÜK, the HDP has shared details about the broadcast of the channel titled "Closure debate" (Kapatma Tartışması) and dated December 12, 2020. The party has indicated that "the social media posts of MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli in the nature of giving instructions to the judiciary were covered" in the related news report.

Reiterating its description of the party logo, the HDP has moved on to say, "The broadcaster ATV, in its news report broadcast at 6.08 p.m., used this emblem by changing it. The leaves and stars symbolizing the embrace of all segments and colors of the society were shown in the background of the news with 'hand grenades', 'bullets' and 'molotov cocktails'."

The party has also added, "To top it all, the broadcaster placed a closure seal on the logo, giving the impression that the party was closed." Underlining that it received 6 million votes in the last general election, thereby being the third largest party of Turkey, the HDP has protested that "depicting the HDP's logo with materials of violence/ death cannot be broadcasting."

'They committed a hate crime'

The party has further stressed that "by defending the closure of the party with a red seal and thereby acting as the judiciary, the broadcaster publicly committed a Constitutional and legal crime."

"With this broadcast, the broadcaster publicly targeted the HDP and the voters who voted for it, committed a hate crime under the name of broadcasting and broadcast a pro-violence program," the party has added.

Against this backdrop, the HDP has stated that the ATV has violated the following clauses of Article 8/1 of the Law no. 6112 the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Media Services:

"Media services;

"b) shall not incite the society to hatred and hostility by making discrimination on the grounds of race, language, religion, sex, class, region and sect or shall not constitute feelings of hatred in the society.

"c) shall not be contrary to the rule of law, the principle of justice and impartiality.

"ı) shall be predicated on the principles of impartiality, truthfulness and accuracy and shall not impede the free formation of opinions within the society; the news that can be investigated within the framework of journalistic code of ethics shall not be broadcast without having been investigated and assured of its accuracy; in news reporting, exaggerated audio and images, any effects and music other than the natural sounds shall be avoided; the qualification of the images as an archive or a re-enactment or the source of the news obtained from the news agencies and other media sources shall be specified.

"i) shall not declare or present anyone as guilty unless conclusively proven by a judicial decision; shall not be in a way to affect the trial process and its impartiality beyond its newsworthiness during the judgement process in cases that have been passed to the judiciary.

"k) shall not be biased towards or favouring political parties and democratic groups.

"ş) shall not incite violence or lead to desensitization."

Accordingly, the party has demanded that the necessary sanctions be imposed on the ATV as per this legislation. (HA/SD)