© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Election officers rely votes through the second spherical of presidential elections in Diyarbakır, Turkey, Could 28, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog has launched an investigation into six opposition TV channels for “insulting the general public” with their protection of the second spherical of a presidential election on Sunday, it mentioned on Tuesday, with out specifying what the insults have been.
The Radio and Tv Broadcasting Company (RTUK) mentioned viewers had complained.
President Tayyip Erdogan prolonged his two-decade rule within the second spherical of elections on Sunday. His rival, Kemal Kilicdaraglu, mentioned it was “essentially the most unfair election lately” however didn’t dispute the outcome.
In March, RTUK fined 4 TV channels for election protection. Worldwide human rights teams and Turkish opposition events have accused RTUK of making an attempt to silence opposition media as a software of the federal government.
“State censorship is at work,” Tele 1, one of many channels below investigation, mentioned on its web site.
Turkey ranked 153 out of 180 in Reporters With out Borders’ press freedom index final yr, qualifying the federal government’s management over the media as excessive.
“In the course of the election interval, RTUK acted as an equipment of the ruling alliance to punish vital protection and impartial journalism,” mentioned Gurkan Ozturan, media freedom speedy response coordinator on the European Middle for Press and Media Freedom.
“This remedy of the media is unacceptable and creates unfair situations for competing events and candidates, and casts a shadow over the outcomes.”
