The move was part of a broad crackdown on followers of Gulen that has been underway since December 2013 when prosecutors launched a corruption investigation of government ministers and people close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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A late-night court order issued on Monday allowed for the business to be seized just days ahead of a national election.
The images of police smashing the gates of the building with chainsaws and rushing toward the master control room of the TV stations were broadcast live.
Brawls erupted outside the offices, prompting police to use tear gas and batons against demonstrators, including MPs from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
All three major opposition parties have rallied around Bugun TV, in spite of having political differences with the media outlet, which has touted a nationalist line in the past.
The authorities on Tuesday took over 22 companies owned by Koza Ipek in an investigation of alleged financial irregularities, including whether it funded Gulen.
As police arrived to ensure the entry of administrators to take over the companies on Wednesday, the crowd of protesters chanted “the free media can not be silenced”.
Before the channel shut down completely, Tarik Toros, the Bugun editor-in-chief told viewers: “Do not be surprised if you see police in our studio in the next few minutes”.
“The government’s seizure of Koza Ipek undermines the fairness of the November 1 parliamentary elections”, Robert Herman of Freedom House said in an e-mailed statement, calling the takeovers of the media firms “censorship”.
European Union spokeswoman Catherine Ray said: “We want to reiterate the importance of the respect of the rule of law and media freedom”. The prosecutor in charge of the operation claimed that the detained journalists defamed the group through print coverage and a soap opera that prompted police raids.
In short, Turkey’s already shameful state of media freedom suffered another blow this week – and more might be coming.
The problem here is that while certain members of the Gulen movement in the police and judiciary must be tried for misusing their authority, the Erdogan regime has lately begun to condemn the whole movement – which has schools, kindergartens, charities, nongovernmental organizations and media – as a terrorist organization.
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“It is unbelievable that a state openly treats a media group like a criminal organisation during a live broadcast in such a despotic and rude way”.
