Mithat Sancar censored during live broadcast
Mithat Sancar was taken off air with an abrupt ‘ad break’ during Habertürk TV’s Akşam Raporu (Evening Report) presented by Balçiçek İlter
17.10.2014
Ankara University professor Mithat Sancar was taken off air with an abrupt move to an ‘ad break’ during Habertürk TV’s Akşam Raporu presented by Balçiçek İlter.
Balçiçek İlter asked Mithat Sancar for his opinion on the AKP government’s plans to further increase police powers following the protests regarding the situation in Kobani. While Sancar was responding to the question İlter ended the broadcast saying, “We need to go to an ad break.”
According to a report in BirGün, after the broadcast on the pretext of an ‘ad break’, the programme then continued without Mithat Sancar. İlter stated that there had been a technical fault, before continuing the broadcast with the latest news in the financial markets. Sancar, who was allegedly removed from the air due to a ‘technical fault’, was not brought back onto the programme.
The removal from the air of Mithat Sancar, who has previously taken part in and voiced his opinion on many discussion programmes on Habertürk, attracted widespread attention.
Speaking to the news site Radikal about claims that he had been censored, Mithat Sancar said he had heard that the channel’s editorial director had given instructions to ‘cut the broadcast’. Having spoken with Balçiçek İlter, Sancar stated that no explanation had been given to İlter during the broadcast and that the only information given was that there had been a technical fault, even though it was evident that this was not the case. Noting that he too had been given no explanation regarding the incident, Mithat Sancar said, “After I while I told them that I would leave the studio and then I left.”
Before being taken off air, Mithat Sancar said, “existing laws already fully enable the police to intervene in any situation, police already use weapons when necessary, particularly following the introduction of the ‘Police Duties and Powers Act’ in 2006, and this has even led to many ‘extrajudicial killings’.” He added, “During the Gezi Resistance, the police took direct aim at and killed many young people.” Sancar stated, “The ‘Anti-Terrorism Law’ also had similar negative consequences,” and he was removed from the air while speaking these words: “13-14 year old children are labelled ‘stone throwers’ and placed in prison, and a further increase in police powers will have even more negative consequences.”