Top Turkish court reverses ban on news organizations

Turkey’s top court has reversed a state of emergency decree issued in 2016 that led to the closure of dozens of media outlets that allegedly “threatened domestic security.” The ruling is expected to pave the way for the return of several independent news channels and radio stations in the country. The Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled that the decree violated “the principles of necessity and proportionality.” Following the failed Turkish coup attempt in July 2016, several media organizations were forcibly closed after the decree was issued. It led to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) filing a petition to revoke the decree on grounds that it prevented people from exercising their right to information, which is a constitutional guarantee.

Hayatin Sesi TV was among the television channels that were closed following the decree. As

The ‘anti-terror’ order after failed

2016 coup ‘violates principles of necessity, proportionality.’

part of the crackdown, the channel’s buildings were raided by police, its website was blocked, it was removed from the national satellite platform and its assets were seized. “We always claimed that the closure was not based on legal grounds. Now we will use all our legal rights to get back our movable and immovable assets and to get back our broadcasting rights,” Devrim Avci, a lawyer representing Hayatin Sesi TV, told Arab News. Alpay Antmen, a CHP MP, said that authorities used the opportunity of the coup to target dissident media outlets and journalists under the pretext of fighting terror. “Authorities bypassed the parliament, tried to govern the country with decrees, ignored checks and balances in governance and made the country dependent on oneman rule,” he told Arab News.