Turkey’s radio and television regulatory body RTUK has imposed a two-week ban on the popular TV series “Scarlet pimples” (Kizil Goncalar) because it is against “national and spiritual values of society”, Reuters reported.
Ilhan Tascha, a board member of RTUK, which represents the main opposition, wrote on the X social network (formerly Twitter) that the regulatory body also imposed a 3 percent administrative fine on Fox TV, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co. (Walt Disney Co.).
The series Scarlet Buds, which highlights the divide between religious and secular sections of society, faced backlash after it aired on December 18, although the first two episodes topped the ratings charts and received more than 10 million views on the YouTube video platform.
The RTUK has often penalized shows for what it considers violations of Turkey’s moral values, the family structure, or other issues it deems unethical, including LGBT rights.
Critics of the regulatory body and opposition parties have previously criticized RTUK for restricting freedoms.
The producer of the series, Faruk Turgut, said that the series reflects the sociological reality in Turkey and depicts the clash between the secular and religious sections of society.
“I am trying to hold a mirror to the reality of Turkish society. The reality must be discussed, we cannot move forward if we ignore it,” said Turgut, as quoted by Hürriyet. “They have declared war on us, but we will fight to the end”.
Ebubekir Şahin, the director of RTUK and a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, wrote on social media platform X that outraged viewers had called for the series to be stopped, and advertisements for the series had been vandalized on billboards in Istanbul. with black paint.
Pro-government media accused the series of Islamophobia and called for the cancellation of location permits for future episodes.
The Ismailaga Brotherhood, a prominent religious sect in Turkey, sharply criticized the series.
“Productions in modern media that target our religion and pious people, aiming to dishonor the name of Allah, our holy book the Qur’an and spiritual institutions such as sects and orders, are absolutely unacceptable,” the sect wrote in X.
Tashche pointed out that “RTUK bows down to cults and sects”.
