CYBC could face €8,000 fine

STATE BROADCASTER CyBC could face a fine of up to €8,000 for broadcasting a scene from a satirical TV show deemed inappropriate by viewers and one anti domestic violence charity.

The scene in question, taken from the Cypriot satirical series Patatas Antinaxtes (‘fried potatoes’) involved bandits from the infamous Hasamboulia gang threatening a Paphite village resident.

Neophytos Epaminondas, Director of the Cyprus Radio and Television Authority, CRTA, said that in the scene, a bandit threatened to murder and rape a woman living in a village house. At this point a fellow bandit said that they should rape first and then murder the woman.

Epaminondas said that the complaints were raised by members of the public and an anti domestic violence organisation, and will be dealt with over the coming weeks with a decision likely to be given after the summer recess.

“We will proceed to examine the complaints, and CyBC will be asked to come before the authority to submit explanations.”

He added “The important thing to remember is that it is just one case against CyBC. It is one of many cases (that the CRTA is examining). The authority will remain sensitive to all cases involving children.”

Asked about CyBC news head, Yiannis Kareklas’ statement on Monday about not being informed of the CRTA’s investigation before it was broadcast in the media, Epaminondas said that a letter had been sent to CyBC Director Themis Themistocleus, who was out of the country.

The CRTA does not send emails in such instances, because all decisions that it makes can be questioned by the Supreme Court, and in such cases emailed communications are considered to be less secure proofs of communication than signed-for letters.

Last month, the authority investigated 24 cases, amounting to 111 violations, concerning infringements by radio and television stations of broadcasting regulations. In seven of these cases they issued a warning, and in the remaining 17 they issued total fines of €56,300.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.