Eutelsat pulls plug on Roj TV

Satellite operator Eutelsat has asked distributors uplinking Roj TV to its satellites to suspend broadcasts of the channel in order to avoid incurring criminal liability as an accomplice to terrorist activities. Based in Denmark, the international satellite TV network is financed and controlled by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), labelled a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. On 10 January the Danish public prosecutor, the Court of Copenhagen delivered a verdict that the channel was an instrument of the political party with respect to their financial, structural and operational ties. The Court consequently condemned Roj TV, declaring it guilty of facilitating and inciting participation in a terrorist organisation. The court found that between February 2008 and September 2010 the TV channel had "one-sidedly and uncritically disseminated (PKK) messages, including incitement to revolt and to join the organisation". The court, however, did not revoke Roj TV's broadcasting licence on 10 January and instead imposed fines of 65,000 Danish crowns (US$11,100) each on the two companies which run it, a decision that infuriated, among other, the Turkish government. Under these circumstances, Eutelsat has decided to suspend the presence of Roj TV on its satellites.