Closure of a radio station, even when it has temporarily suspended broadcasting, represents a violation of the applicant’s right to “Freedom of Expression”.
Broadcast shutdown on grounds that are irrelevant and deemed insufficient constitutes an infringement upon the freedom of expression.
The application presented to the Constitutional Court contended that the action taken by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) to shut down a radio station, on the grounds that it had temporarily suspended its broadcasts, constitutes a violation of the fundamental right to freedom of expression.
In Application No: 2013/1429, the Constitutional Court adjudicated that the applicant’s freedom of expression, as guaranteed by Article 26 of the Constitution, had been infringed upon. The Court’s ruling asserted that “Applicant has had a broadcasting history dating back to 1995, with a temporary suspension of broadcasts occurring between 2000 and 2002, followed by a resumption of broadcasts 2002 to 2009. Hence, the applicant had not been engaged in “broadcasting without permission” as alleged in the decisions of both RTÜK and the Court of Instance, but rather had solely “suspended broadcasting” … and that the reasons specified in the decisions of RTÜK and Courts of Instance were not “relevant and sufficient”, and therefore the intervention in the application was not “in line with the intended objectives”.
https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/aym-yayin-durdurma-hak-ihlali-40022604
