RTÜK fines SZC TV over remarks by Türker Ertürk

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) held its Supreme Council meeting today. During the meeting, the remarks of Türker Ertürk, who participated in the "Aklın Yolu Programı" (Path of Reason Program) hosted by Serap Belovacıklı on SZC TV, were evaluated.

RTÜK decided to impose 5 administrative fines and a 5-time program suspension sanction on the channel due to the expressions used in the program.

WHAT DID ERTÜRK SAY?

Ertürk's words, which were the subject of the penalty, were reported as follows:

"There is no more struggling by pretending. What does this mean? There is no 'as if' there is law, 'as if' there is democracy, 'as if' there are freedoms. Now, one must struggle against an authoritarian regime in whatever way it is to be struggled against. One must study for this. A series of actions must be prepared, including civil disobedience."

"Today, you know, by speaking harshly—I don't know—by provoking with words, there is no possibility. And also, this place is no longer Sweden, nor Norway, nor France, nor whatever. Authoritarian regimes... There is an instrument. What is it: You stop life. You gather millions in the squares. If the opposition has such leadership and power, then challenge accepted!"

It was stated that with the statements he made on different dates, Ertürk "called the public to the streets and implied that the government could stage a coup through the Turkish Armed Forces even if it lost the elections." It was noted that the expressions in question violated the provision in Article 8 of Law No. 6112, which states, "...cannot incite the public to hatred and hostility or create feelings of hatred in society." It was decided to impose a 5 percent administrative fine and a 5-time program suspension sanction on SZC TV.

During the meeting, it was also stated that the media organization named SZC used a logo different from the one reported to RTÜK. An administrative fine was imposed on the media organization due to the unauthorized logo change.

News Source: 12punto