LONDON: Turkiye’s Radio and Television Supreme Council, the government telecommunications regulator known as RTUK, fined three TV channels on Wednesday over critical coverage of the response to earthquakes that hit the country.

Halk TV, Tele 1 and Fox TV Turkiye were issued with fines for reports that criticized the government’s relief efforts after devastating quakes killed more than 42,000 people.

RTUK fined Fox TV and Halk TV 3 percent of their monthly advertisement income due to comments by journalists attacking the government’s slow and ineffective earthquake response.

Halk TV was fined 5 percent of its monthly advertisement income and programs were stopped five times due to the comments of Ahmet Sik, a lawmaker with the Workers’ Party of Turkiye.

Tele 1 was issued with the same fines over comments by journalists regarding the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and its policies.

The fines are widely seen as an attempt by the Turkish leader to silence critical voices.

The three networks are known for editorial lines critical of Erdogan, and Halk TV is strongly aligned with the Republican People’s Party, Turkiye’s main opposition.

Ilhan Tasci, an RTUK member from the CHP, said that the fines were “political” and called the decision a “betrayal of the profession of journalism.”

“While those who distort and censor the truth are patted on the back, those who pursue the truth are silenced,” he wrote.

Local and international media experts and journalists’ unions also condemned the fines, with media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists calling on Turkish authorities to revoke the penalties and safeguard media freedom in the country.

“Critical journalism during a time of mourning for the tens of thousands of lives lost to the earthquakes may appear harsh, but it can also pave the way to justice for the victims and better regulations to save lives in the future,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.

“Turkish authorities should revoke the penalties leveled against broadcasters Fox TV Turkiye, Halk TV, and Tele1, and refrain from silencing media criticism of the government and its institutions.”

Turkiye was devastated by a series of earthquakes that hit the country’s south and southeastern provinces on Feb. 6.

The government’s handling of the disaster has become a significant issue in political debate ahead of general elections in May.

The opposition, experts and international rights groups have accused the RTUK of using the government’s controversial media law to penalize independent media and of functioning as an instrument of Erdogan’s authoritarian regime.

Since Feb. 6, Turkiye has arrested 78 people accused of creating fear and panic by “sharing provocative posts” about the quake on social media.

Earlier this month, Turkiye blocked access to Twitter for about 12 hours, citing the spread of disinformation, prompting an angry response from opposition politicians and people using the platform to find loved ones and share information about rescue efforts.

In 2022, Turkiye ranked 149th out of 180 countries in the latest press freedom index of watchdog organization Reporters Without Borders.