International Press Institute accuses Turkey of harassment of critical media

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global body of media executives, journalists and publishers who defend press freedom, has expressed its rejection of the various fines issued by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK), Turkey's media regulator, against several dissenting media outlets that are contrary to the policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Ottoman executive. 

RTUK is responsible for issuing broadcast licences and supervising radio and television stations in their day-to-day operations. And the work of this body has been viewed negatively by IPI in light of the latest sanctions imposed on dissident media. "These latest fines confirm that RTUK has become a means of suppressing media content that is critical not only of the government or the president, but also of any political allies," the IPI said after fines were imposed against Halk TV, Haberturk, Tele 1, KRT and Fox TV.

Press freedom activists said the IPI sees these fines as a tool to silence critical media content and warn free media advocates, as reported by Arab News. 

In 2020, these media companies received up to 46 administrative fines totalling around 10 million Turkish Liras (approximately USD 1.42 million) and eight broadcast suspensions.

Halk TV was recently fined after showing a programme criticising the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a coalition partner of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 

Another fine against the same channel was related to comments on the disproportionate use of police force against student protests across the country following Recep Tayyip Erdogan's appointment of Melih Bulut, a political figure close to the AKP, as the new rector of the prestigious Bosphorus University without an election process, as indicated by several media outlets. 

The other TV channels were also fined for comments by guests on several programmes critical of Erdogan and members of the pro-government judiciary, as reported by Arab News. 

Although RTUK members are appointed by the parties in parliament in proportion to their number of seats, the AKP and MHP hold six of the nine most important oversight posts, giving them the majority to allegedly limit press freedom in the Eurasian country. 

Some journalistic professionals have already criticised RTUK for its political subservience and for events such as the one last year, when RTUK chairman Ebubekir Sahin publicly declared his political affiliation to Erdogan's son-in-law in a tweet, as Arab News recalled. 

Utku Cakirozer, a lawmaker for the main opposition CHP party and a journalist by profession, said regulatory bodies, especially RTUK and the Press Advertising Bureau (BIK), have increasingly abused their authority. "These bodies are actually responsible for providing a free environment for media channels. However, they became instruments of punishment for those who try to practice independent and critical journalism," Utku Cakirozer told Arab News.

"Unfortunately, the increase in fines has pushed media companies towards self-censorship to protect their much-needed advertising revenue," Cakirozer said of the pressure on the press. 

Renan Akyavas, IPI's Turkey programme coordinator, said the latest RTUK fines confirmed clear behaviour to punish certain broadcasters critical of the government and its allies. "The fines have a significant negative impact on the advertising revenues of these broadcasters, creating serious financial pressure that could lead to their closure given the increased level and frequency of sanctions," Akyavas said. 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's persecution of opponents, mainly people close to the Republican People's Party (CHP), which wrested power in the major cities of Istanbul and Ankara from Erdogan's AKP in the last municipal elections, and the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), accused by the government of supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is accused by the government of allegedly supporting terrorist acts in the south of the Eurasian country, continues.

This pressure extended to the university environment with the repression of student protests against the appointment of Melih Bulut as rector of Bosphorus University in Istanbul. 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to increase the pressure on the opposition in the face of the political crisis his party is suffering due to the loss of support in the interior of the country, represented above all by the heavy defeat in the last municipal elections and the weariness of a certain part of the population, especially young people, in the face of the authoritarian and radical Islamist policies of the Executive and the difficult economic situation the country is suffering, as various analysts have warned.