State police seize control of biggest Turkish anti-Erdogan newspaper

Turkish police took control of the headquarters of Zaman during a dramatic midnight raid raising fresh concerns amid domestic and international outcry about a clampdown on media freedoms.

MENA

4 min read

The New Arab & agencies

05 March, 2016

Zaman newspaper was closely linked to Fethullah Gulen [L], an arch-foe of Erdogan [R] [AFP]

Turkish authorities are in control of a newspaper staunchly opposed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after police stormed its headquarters by force during a dramatic midnight raid.

Police fired the tear gas and water cannon just before midnight Friday at a hundreds-strong crowd that had formed outside the headquarters of the Zaman Daily in Istanbul following a court order issued earlier in the day.

The act raised fresh alarm over declining media freedoms in the country.

It has also caused international concern in Washington and Brussels amid the intensifying worries over the climate for freedom of expression in Turkey.

EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said he was "extremely worried" about the developments.

Zaman, closely linked to Erdogan's arch-foe, the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, was ordered into administration by the court on the request of Istanbul prosecutors, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.

Hundreds of supporters then gathered outside its headquarters awaiting the arrival of bailiffs and security forces after the court order.

"Democracy will continue and free media will not be silent," Zaman's editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici was quoted as saying by the Cihan news agency just before the police raid.

"I believe that free media will continue even if we have to write on the walls. I don't think it is possible to silence media in the digital age," he told Cihan, part of the Zaman media group.

Overnight raid

Shortly before midnight, a team of police arrived with two Turkish-made TOMA water cannon trucks used by the police and exported to several countries.

They advanced military style towards the waiting supporters, firing the freezing water directly at them.

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Using bolt-cutters to unlock the iron gate in front of the building, dozens of police then marched into the premises to seize the headquarters and formally place it under administration, pushing aside anyone who stood in their way, Cihan images showed.

Once the building was cleared, the court-appointed administrators, lawyers Tahsin Kaplan and Metin Ilhan and writer Sezai Sengonul, were bussed inside the complex to begin their work, Anatolia said.

The Cihan news agency and the Today's Zaman English language daily, which are also part of the Feza Publications group that owns Zaman, and are also affected by the court order.

The US said the court order it was "the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it".

"We urge Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in their own constitution, including freedom of speech and especially freedom of the press," state department spokesman John Kirby said.

Johannes Hahn, the European commissioner for regional policy, said he was "extremely worried" about the move "which jeopardises progress" made by Turkey in other areas.

Hahn warned on Twitter that Turkey, which is a long-standing candidate to join the EU, needs to "respect the freedom of the media" and rights were "not negotiable".

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Ahead of EU summit

The US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen has been based in the US since 1999, when he fled charges against him laid by the former secular authorities.

Despite living outside of Turkey, Gulen built up huge influence in the country through allies in the police and judiciary, media and financial interests and a vast network of cramming schools.

Ankara now accuses Gulen of running what it calls the Fethullahaci Terror Organisation/Parallel State Structure [FeTO/PDY] and seeking to overthrow the legitimate Turkish authorities.

Anatolia said the court order was issued on the grounds that Zaman supported the activities of this "terror organisation."

There have been numerous legal crackdowns on structures linked to the group and on Friday Turkish police arrested four executives of one of the country's largest conglomerates, accusing them of financing Gulen.

Gulen supporters decry the accusations as ridiculous, saying all he leads is a more informal group known as Hizmet [Service].

The effective seizure of the newspaper by the state added to concerns over freedom of expression in Turkey under Erdogan's rule.

Can Dundar's arrest has amplified concerns about press freedom under Erdogan [Getty]

The daily Cumhuriyet newspaper's editor-in-chief Can Dundar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul were released on an order from Turkey's top court last week after three months in jail on charges of publishing state secrets.

But they still face trial on 25 March.

Meanwhile almost 2,000 journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens, including high school students, have found themselves prosecuted on accusations of insulting Erdogan.

Independent pro-Kurdish television channel IMV TV was taken off air in Turkey last weekend following accusations that it broadcast "terrorist propaganda" for militants.

The raid on Zaman comes as prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu heads to Brussels Monday for a crucial summit meeting with EU leaders.

The news of the court decision broke as Erdogan was holding talks in Istanbul with EU President Donald Tusk.