Turkish police halted the live broadcast of the main opposition channel Halk TV on Wednesday morning and took control of its headquarters after an administrator was appointed to run it. The channel said in a post on X before 7am local time that police were inside its building and that its broadcast had been cut following the appointment of the administrator.
Trustee appointed as allegations target Cafer Mahiroğlu
Halk news channel's broadcast also went off air, while its live stream on YouTube was cut. The move followed a decision to appoint a trustee to manage the channel, which the Istanbul public prosecutor's office said was based on an investigation targeting its chairman, Cafer Mahiroğlu. Prosecutors accused Mahiroğlu of bribery, bid-rigging and laundering money obtained from criminal activities.
The union said on X that "the abuse of the law used by the political authorities to overcome every problem has struck press freedom once again today", adding: "We do not accept this despotism." Opposition leader Özgür Özel condemned the targeting of a station he said was watched by millions, describing the government's action as "weak and cowardly".
Halk TV has repeatedly faced sanctions from Turkey's broadcasting regulator and has also faced threats that it could be shut down over its criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government.
