An Istanbul-based independent radio station has gone off air after Turkey‘s radio and television watchdog canceled its terrestrial broadcast license, months after it was suspended over comments made by a guest on the genocide of Armenians.
RTUK, the watchdog, said at the time that the radio station had made no attempt to correct the guest’s remarks, which constituted incitement to hatred and hostility.
Contesting figures
The station’s broadcast license was canceled on October 11 after a court lifted a stay of execution in September.
“Revoking the license, regardless of the reason, is definitely an attempt to silence the public voice,” Omer Madra, co-founder and the editor-in-chief of Acik Radyo, told reporters on Wednesday after the radio went off the air.
