Court grants stay of execution for the 5-day broadcasting ban imposed on TELE 1; court rules for access block to journalist Fatih Altaylı's YouTube channel; top court rules Sedat Yılmaz’s rights violated

Court grants stay of execution for the 5-day broadcasting ban imposed on TELE 1

The Ankara 23rd Administrative Court has granted stay of execution for the five-day suspension of broadcasting imposed on TELE 1 by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK).

The penalty, issued on 24 July, targets remarks by TELE 1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ on the program “4 Questions, 4 Answers,” in which he stated, “The July 15 coup attempt was an Islamist coup. The main culprit behind this coup is the AKP government.” RTÜK claimed the comments incited “hatred and hostility among the public” and imposed both a five-day blackout and a 5 percent administrative fine.

The station was officially notified of the penalty on 1 August, and was expected to go off air at midnight on 6 August, between Wednesday and Thursday.

Following an appeal against the decision, the court ruled for stay of execution of the broadcasting ban.

Prior to TELE 1’s penalty, SZC TV had its broadcasts suspended for 10 days starting midnight on 8 July, also by order of RTÜK. Halk TV, another opposition broadcaster, also received a 10-day broadcast ban penalty but its execution was suspended by an administrative court upon Halk TV’s appeal. Under the Law no. 6112 on radios and televisions, the license of a broadcaster could be revoked permanently if it is found to have violated the same provision of the law for a third time within the same year.

Court rules for access block to journalist Fatih Altaylı's YouTube channel

An İstanbul court has decided to block access to journalist Fatih Altaylı's YouTube channel and remove its content. The decision was made by the İstanbul 6th Criminal Court of Peace at the request of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. 

The Freedom of Expression Association announced that the decision had been communicated to internet service providers.

The association's statement noted that YouTube had not yet made the channel invisible in Turkey and that it was therefore still accessible from Turkey at this time.

The channel has approximately 1.65 million subscribers and is the most popular online news channel in Turkey.

Constitutional Court rules Sedat Yılmaz’s rights violated

The Constitutional Court has concluded the appeal filed against the imprisonment of journalist Sedat Yılmaz, who was jailed in 2023 on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and released after 291 days in prison, ruling that Yılmaz's right to liberty and security had been violated.

Yılmaz was detained on 29 April 2023 as part of an operation against Kurdish media outlets and was imprisoned pending trial after four days in custody. After the appeals against Yılmaz's detention were rejected, the MLSA filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court on 4 July 2023, arguing that Sedat Yılmaz was detained on the grounds of his professional activities, which violated his right to liberty and security of person and his freedom of expression and press freedom.

The Constitutional Court ruled that Sedat Yılmaz's detention violated the right to liberty and security of the person and ordered that he be compensated.

Eight newspapers in Mersin have had their right to publish official announcements suspended indefinitely

The Press Advertising Agency (BİK) has indefinitely suspended the right of eight daily newspapers in Mersin to publish official announcements.

During inspections carried out last month, the General Directorate of BİK determined that the private company responsible for distributing the newspapers had not fully fulfilled its obligations. Despite fulfilling their distribution obligations on their part, the newspapers were also faced with the suspension of advertisements due to the negligence of the main distribution company. 

The newspapers whose right to publish advertisements has been suspended indefinitely are as follows: Akdeniz, Çukurova, Güney, Haberci, Hakimiyet, İmece, Mersin, and Yeni Güney.

Indictment filed against İsmail Arı for “insulting the state's judicial organs”

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against journalist İsmail Arı on the grounds that he remarked that “the judiciary has become politicized and opponents are being punished while supporters are being protected.”

Arı noted in a post on his social media account that the indictment was filed on the suspicion of “insulting the state's judicial organs.”

At least 32 journalists and media workers behind bars in Turkey

As of 8 August 2025, there are at least 32 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a finalized sentence.

The full list can be accessed here