Turkey’s media watchdog RTÜK fines Diyarbakır’s Amed Radyo TV

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The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), the media watchdog of Turkey, has fined Amed Radyo TV, a Diyarbakır-based media outlet doing terrestrial broadcasting, 12 thousand 804 Turkish Lira (TRY).

Making a statement about the issue, Amed Radyo TV Executive Board Chair and Editor-in-Chief Ferat Mehmetoğlu has announced that the RTÜK has cited its alleged failure to send its statement of business income.

Mehmetoğlu has said that they sent the related statement in May 2021. He has briefly stated the following about the issue:

"In fact, even though it was requested by the RTÜK at the indicated date and even afterwards several times and we sent it via the Registered Electronic Mail (KEP) account, the official channel of communication, every time, we were unfortunately given a fine today."

Indicating that local and terrestrial broadcasters have been offered no support by the state and are struggling to keep their heads above the water during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mehmetoğlu has defined the RTÜK's fine as "deliberate and a product of the policy of intimidation".

He reiterated, "We sent it several times; it is written in the official documents, but we are fined. We have officially submitted our petition of objection. I hope that they will realize this mistake and the related fine will be canceled. Otherwise, it will be an indication that another blow is dealt to the local media outlets, which have been closed during the pandemic, by the RTÜK."

Noting that the Amed Radyo TV is "an independent outlet broadcasting only for people", he said, "We do not have political powers or doors of unearned income at our back. So, the fines imposed on us undermine us and our ambition to work." (HA/SD)