Media members criticize decision to remove channels

ISTANBUL

Representatives of TV and radio channels which were removed from Türksat, Turkey’s top satellite network, as part of a state of emergency decree held a press conference on Oct. 3 in the Turkish Journalists’ Union Office, daily BirGün has reported.

The heads of the Turkish Journalists’ Union, the Turkish Journalist Association and DİSK Basın-İş, the press wing of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey, all made statements at conference.

The participants declared the decision to remove the channels from Türksat as a death warrant for freedom of press, demanding that the mistake be corrected ahead of a cabinet meeting.

Twelve television channels were removed from Türksat as part of a state of emergency decree issued in the Official Gazette after the July 15 failed coup attempt, believed to have been masterminded by the followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen.
 
Among the TV channels removed were Hayatın Sesi, imc TV, Van TV, Jiyan TV, Azadi TV and Zarok TV. Their broadcasts were halted after Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) notified Türksat on the issue.