Hayatın Sesi TV owner and managers charged with 3 years and 9 months imprisonment

The owners of the Hayatın Sesi TV, Mustafa Kara and İsmail Gökhan Bayram and General Director Gökhan Çetin, charged with 3 years and 9 months imprisonment with claims that they have been “aggregately spreading propaganda of ISIS, PKK and TAK”.

Hayatın Sesi TV was closed with emergency decrees of law (KHK) after the coup attempt on July, 2016.

THE CLAIM OF PROPAGANDA OF THREE DIFFERENT ORGANISATIONS

Istanbul Public Prosecutor Fahrettin Kemal Yerli, who prepared the indictment, claims that ISID, TAK, and PKK propaganda were carried out in the publication of Hayatın Sesi TV channel. Among the accusations that are subject to the indictment are the last minute and live broadcast news about the incident on October 10, the Ankara Massacre, Ankara Güvenpark on March 13, 2016, and the bombing attack on Taksim Square on March 19, 2016

Yerli demanded the punishment of Kara, Bayram and Çetin by interpreting the publication of the images as "serving as a terrorist organization for the purpose and making propaganda of the organization".

PACE URGED TURKEY TO ALLOW JOURNALISTS REPORTING FREE FROM FEAR

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) monitors Marianne Mikko and Nigel Evans denounced conviction of executives of shut-down Hayatın Sesi TV channel to prison; urged Turkey to allow journalists reporting free from fear & align media freedom legislation and practice with Strasbourg Court of Human Rights case-law.

FROM THE ÇETİN, KARA AND BAYRAM'S DEFENSE

On May 30, Kara and Bayram made a defence in the first stance. Kara said public service publications are all about communicating facts to the public. "In all of these publications, we have a clear reaction to the death of people and criticism against the state is because of the reason it wasn’t prevented. It is irrational to carry out the propaganda of all terrorist organizations at the same time. I do not think it is right for television activities based on RTÜK complaints to be the subject of heavy penalties. "

Bayram also stated in his defence that the publishing principles of the Hayatın Sesi TV are always for peace and against the killing of people without exception and that it is unwise to propagate different terrorist organizations at the same time.

Çetin, who defended in the 2nd stance on November 7, voiced that the indictment was prepared in order to produce justification for the closing the channel after the closure of Hayatın Sesi TV Channel.

Çetin, who underlined the fact that the Television of Hayatın Sesi TV has watched a broadcasting policy from the side of the peace and not the side of the war and the battle during the broadcasting life, said that "The indictment consists of hot and instant images. It is also the indictment charges that a citizen's reaction to the terrorist attack in Ankara and the interviews with the citizens of the Cudi neighbourhood about the people living in Cizre are broadcasted to the audience on a program on television. Defending the peace and absence of death is generally considered to be equivalent to 'propaganda of a terrorist organisation'." (EVRENSEL DAILY)