This December 19, 2014 file photo shows media activists holding placards that read, “free media can not be silenced,”
(AFP photo)
Judiciary officials in Turkey have banned a major broadcaster from airing channels close to an opposition leader in exile, expressing concern about the government’s tightening grip on free speech weeks ahead of key elections in the country.
A state prosecutor in the capital, Ankara, issued an order on Thursday, banning service provider Digiturk from broadcasting two major news networks, namely the Bugun TV and S Haber, along with a children’s channel and four other general stations.
“An official court document regarding crimes against the constitutional order was sent by the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office,” said a statement by Digiturk, Turkey’s third TV platform and the leading pay-TV service which is believed to be close to Fethullah Gulen, a cleric based in the United States who is opposed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
“As the document’s content ordered, Kanalturk, Samanyolu TV, Mehtap TV, S Haber, Bugun TV, Yumurcak TV and Irmak TV have been removed from the platform,” the statement said.
Many in the social media have ridiculed the ban on the children’s TV channel, with a user, for instance, in Twitter posting a comment, saying the decision was a “blow” to plans for a civilian coup by Arthur the rabbit and Yumi the clever truck, two children’s TV characters.
Erdogan has accused Gulen and his followers of plotting to overthrow the AKP, a charge Gulen denies. Hundreds of people, believed to be sympathizers of Gulen, many of them members of the police and the judiciary, have been arrested as the government intensifies a crackdown ahead of the November 1 snap elections in which the AKP seeks to restore its majority in the parliament.
Police launched a raid last month on the offices of Koza Ipek, a conglomerate that owns channels including Kanalturk and Bugun TV. Similar raids were carried out late last year on media outlets which were close to Gulen, with police detaining dozens of staff members.