Media organisation protests closure of Turkish TV, radio stations

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday, called on Turkey to reverse its decision to close down no less than 20 television and radio stations.
CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney said the government has already silenced a large segment of the media that has been critical of its actions.
“CPJ has continued its campaign against cultural and political freedom of expression,’’ Mahoney said.
Turkish authorities ordered the closure of 23 stations on Thursday.
The satellite and cable broadcaster Turksat ceased broadcasting several channels that same day, among them Zarok TV, which carried cartoon series like Maya the Bee and The Smurfs in Kurdish.
Two pro-Kurdish TV channels were also shut down.
The measures were made possible by the state of emergency declared after the recent coup attempt.
According to Turkish state news agency, even the independent station IMC TV is to be closed down.
IMC News Director Hamza Aktan told newsmen that the station had not received any official confirmation thereof.
“We expect the police to turn up at our door any time,’’ Aktan said.
Report says Turkish authorities had already had the station removed from Turksat’s cable package in February.