Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Halk TV has been seized. Its broadcasts have been suspended. In effect, this means shutting the channel down. You might ask: “Why seize a television channel like this? We no longer live in the era of a single broadcaster. People can watch whichever channel they want. If they don’t like it, they can switch it off.” But is it really that simple? No.
After the detention of Cem Küçük, a prominent commentator on TV screens known for leaking information from judicial files, Tahir Sarıkaya, an anchor from the Beyaz TV channel owned by former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek and his son Osman Gökçek, was arrested for blackmailing and spreading false information.
Özgür Özel, ousted as CHP chair by a court ruling, is preparing to set up a new party even as legal threats mount against him and his allies. The party is likely to be called Yeni Party (New Party), Özel said. 'We are working on the name and the logo. The name has started to become clear. There is a generally accepted name, while the logo is still being worked on. For now, let's call it 'Yeni Party.' Until there is a new name, let's say Yeni Party,' Özel told SZC TV. 'The statute and the program are being written. The official step will be taken at the end of July or the beginning of August,' Özel told the channel at parliament ahead of a special session marking the 10th anniversary of the failed coup attempt.
A rift within the ruling AKP divulged to public view after Tamar Tanrıyar — a social media phenomenon, a Turkish-Armenian known mainly as the wife of a former celebrity journalist and the owner of a small television channel — released a video targeting pro-government Turkuvaz Media Group that owns Sabah newspaper and ATV television channel.
Following the consensus between Syria’s interim government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), momentum has returned to Turkey’s long-running efforts to end the decades-long armed conflict and address the Kurdish question through political and legal channels. This renewed dynamic has also pushed the “right to hope” for PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan back to the center of the political agenda.
The brief respite after a court rejected a bid to unseat main opposition CHP Chair Özgür Özel and annul the party’s 2023 congress has now given way to a widening espionage probe. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his campaign director Necati Özkan were rearrested on espionage charges, while a trustee was appointed to TELE1 television channel and its editor-in-chief, Merdan Yanardağ, was also taken into custody on Oct. 24.
The planned meeting of the Turkish–Greek High-Level Cooperation Council (HLC) in Ankara on February 11 comes when the calm in relations between Ankara and Athens conceals numerous fragilities. That’s just one reason why the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is unlikely to produce a breakthrough. Rather, the meeting aims to keep communication channels open while both sides pursue sharply divergent agendas in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Adana-based local Koza TV is preparing to establish a new Istanbul broadcasting hub, with recruitment underway, an effort to launch a new opposition channel with the support of the CHP.
Turkey’s broadcast watchdog has imposed heavy fines on three major television channels over their most-watched programs, citing viewer complaints and alleged violations of family values and public morality.
Sözcü TV, which began broadcasting on March 1, 2023, has undergone a major management overhaul that resulted in a wave of layoffs and raised questions about a broader editorial shift at one of Turkey’s key opposition channels.
A Turkish court has handed a four-year prison sentence to journalist Fatih Altaylı after he was convicted of threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Altaylı, known for his popular YouTube programs, denies the charges and plans to appeal, after prosecutors accused him of physically threatening the president based on remarks he made on his channel. He was arrested on June 22 and appeared before the judge for the second time at this week’s hearing. He was sentenced to four years and two months in prison for threatening the president. The court ruled that judicial control would be insufficient and ordered that his detention continue. Altaylı threw the notes and files in his hand after hearing the decision and left the courtroom.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into comments made on the YouTube channel Soğuk Savaş (Cold War) regarding the Islamic teaching that “alcohol is the mother of all evil.”