According to the Press Council, Blick was allowed to call for a "No" vote in the Turkey referendum
For the Swiss Press Council, one thing is clear: the media are allowed to make recommendations on votes - even if they take place abroad.
He therefore did not even respond to a complaint against Blick's call to reject the Turkish constitutional amendment. On March 13, the print and online editions of Blick and Blick am Abend called on Turks in Switzerland to vote no in the April 16 constitutional referendum in their home country. The headline read, "Vote No to Erdogan's Dictatorship!"
One reader thought that this was not objective reporting and subsequently turned to the Press Council. In his complaint, he criticized the fact that a democratically elected president was being called a dictator and that a nation was being divided into good and evil.
There are no provisions in the "Declarations of the Duties and Rights of Journalists" that would prohibit an editorial staff from taking a position on political issues or writing appeals. The Press Council stated in a statement published on Friday. "This also applies to political events abroad."
It is not apparent how the Blick appeal should constitute discrimination or violate human dignity, according to the press council's brief statement in view of the initial situation. It describes the complaint as "obviously unfounded" and therefore did not act on it at all. (SDA)
