Turkish riot police firing tear gas and water cannon on Wednesday stormed into the Istanbul headquarters of a media group critical of the government, just days before a weekend election.
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“This holds true for anyone who does not obey”, editor in chief of Bugun TV, Tarik Toros, said.
Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of people protesting against the government’s move to seize control of a company that owns opposition TV stations and is linked to a government critic.
“This is an operation to silence all the dissident voices that the ruling party does not like, including media outlets, NGOs and syndicates”.
Critics say Erdogan has become increasingly authoritarian, brooking no dissent since becoming president in August 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister.
The Ankara 5th Criminal Court of Peace on Monday ruled that trustees be appointed to replace the existing boards of directors of Koza İpek Holding and its companies, of which Bugün and Kanaltürk are also a part, based on a demand by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Kirby added that the United States urges Turkish authorities to uphold the universal democratic values that are enshrined in their constitution.
“This move is alarming, particularly given its timing, and it appears to be another example of the pressure on media that IPI and other press freedom groups warned about during last week’s emergency press freedom mission to Turkey”, they told local daily Zaman in a statement.
Koza-Ipek CEO Akin Ipek denounced it as “politically motivated”, saying the government had failed to find any illegal activity during inspections of the company, whose businesses range from media to mining, insurance to healthcare and tourism to food.
A prosecutor is seeking a prison sentence of up to 34 years for Gulen on allegations that he ran a “parallel” structure within state institutions that sought to topple Erdogan.
Journalism groups also condemned the seizure.
The company accused of providing funding for what is called the Gulenist Terror Organization, headed by U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, who is said to have infiltrated Turkey’s state apparatus with thousands of followers in an effort to overthrow the government.
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Turkey’s authorities responded by purging both the police force and judiciary of pro-Gulen elements and arresting news editors and businessmen.
