Turkey's Supreme Radio and Television Council (RTÜK) has blocked access to the Turkish service of US state-run Voice of America and German public network Deutsche Welle because they "did not submit applications to be granted content broadcasting licenses as required by the Turkish electronic and digital media supervisory body," a member said yesterday (Thursday).
In February, both DW and VoA announced that they would not submit applications to receive licenses as required by RTÜK under Turkey's media law, which critics of the Turkish government say has a real aim of censorship.
Most of the media outlets with an impact in Turkey are considered pro-government and their coverage is without exception favorable to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his political allies. RTÜK, which is dominated by the ruling Justice & Development Party (AKP) and its allies, frequently announces fines to media outlets that criticise the government.
Several Turks resort to alternative sources, some abroad, and social networking sites to keep themselves informed.
Turkey has for years been among the world's top-ranked countries in terms of the number of journalists in prison and has been rebuked by both its Western allies and human rights advocacy groups for a host of violations.
