Turkish Police Raid Halk TV, Seize Control of Opposition Channel and Detain 11 People
Prosecutors cite bribery, tender-rigging and money-laundering claims against the chairman. Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel calls it something only dictators do.
Turkish police raided the Istanbul headquarters of the pro-opposition news channel Halk TV before dawn Wednesday, halting its live broadcasts and detaining 11 people, the channel and prosecutors said. A government-appointed trustee was put in charge of companies linked to the channel's chairman.
"Police raid at Halk TV headquarters! A trustee has been appointed, broadcasts have been halted," the channel wrote on X shortly before 7 a.m. local time. Its live news feed and YouTube stream went offline, and Halk journalists posted that they could not get into the building. Pre-recorded material aired after the live broadcast was cut at about 6:30 a.m.
The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office said its financial crimes unit was investigating Halk chairman Cafer Mahiroglu on suspicion of bribery, tender-rigging and laundering assets derived from crime. Warrants were issued for 17 people, and 11 were detained. Mahiroglu was not among them because he lives abroad. Prosecutors said companies co-owned or managed by him were seized, and the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, known as TMSF, was named trustee.
Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, who heads the Republican People's Party, responded angrily. "Storming a TV channel with a police raid at dawn and appointing a trustee is something only dictators do," he said. "Those who appoint trustees to municipalities and usurp the will of the people have now appointed a trustee to Halk TV, watched by millions. Because they are weak and cowardly." He said it was no coincidence that the raid came just hours before defense arguments were due to begin in the trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Turkish Journalists' Union chairman Gokhan Durmus called it another dark chapter for press freedom. Early Reuters coverage noted it was not immediately clear why the raid and trustee appointment had happened before prosecutors supplied their stated grounds.
Halk TV is one of the few national news channels not aligned with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. It has faced repeated sanctions from Turkey's broadcasting regulator, and last year it was threatened with possible closure over its critical tone toward the government.
The raid fits a pattern that opposition politicians and press groups have criticized for years. Trustees have been installed to run municipalities after elected mayors were removed, and the broadcaster's takeover follows the same legal mechanism. Prosecutors in this case pointed to the financial-crime inquiry as the basis for the action.
Human Rights Watch warned this week that Turkey is arbitrarily arresting and prosecuting activists and environmentalists ahead of the COP31 U.N. climate conference in Antalya next month. Press freedom groups condemned the Halk raid as politically motivated. It was not clear Friday when, or whether, Halk TV's live broadcasts would resume, or what charges the 11 detainees face.
