Turkey’s A Haber TV channel receives record fine

Turkey's media watchdog handed a record fine to A Haber TV channel on Monday accusing it of having a pro-government stance on some of its broadcasts.

In line with a report released by the Radio and Television Supreme Council [RTÜK] and the Supreme Election Board's [YSK] decision, A Haber TV station will cease broadcasting some of its programmes for 24 times, the highest number of suspension-penalties given to a Turkish TV channel at once. With this new penalty, the number of bans on A Haber's programmes have risen to 40.

Among those TV programmes which will cease their broadcasting temporarily include interviews conducted with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

In 2014, A Haber TV channel was also fined over its broadcasts regarding Turkey's presidential election.