The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has revoked Açik Radyo’s terrestrial broadcasting license. The Supreme Council imposed a program suspension penalty on the radio five times because broadcasters used the expression "Armenian Genocide" in the "Açik Newspaper" program on 24 April. Now it revoked the license of the 30-year-old radio.
The Ankara 21st Administrative Court, where the radio filed a lawsuit regarding the decision to suspend broadcasting and impose a fine, suspended the execution of the sentence. RTÜK’s objection to this decision was rejected, and the radio announced that it would continue broadcasting.
Açik Radyo said in a statement: “We hope that the suspension of our terrestrial broadcasting life will be temporary and will end as soon as possible. Açik Radyo, which will enter its 30th year of broadcasting in exactly one month from now, has served as a megaphone for civil voices in many areas, from the struggle for the environment and climate to public health, from gender equality to multiculturalism, as shown by the numerous awards it won. We will continue our duty as an independent medium that is not limited to radio frequencies but extends to design, literature and social sciences, from performing arts to plastic arts. We invite all our listeners, professional organizations and the international public opinion to raise their voices against this RTÜK decision that causes an irreparable loss in terms of press and broadcasting freedom in Turkey."