Turkish police raid independent broadcaster Halk TV and appoint trustee

Turkish police raided the Istanbul headquarters of independent broadcaster Halk TV on Wednesday, 14 October, and authorities appointed a trustee to take control of its operations, Euronews reported. The raid was also reported by The Jerusalem Post, Türkiye Today, UA.NEWS, Cyprus Inform, and The Business Standard. According to Euronews, financial crime investigators searched the building, forcing a temporary suspension of broadcasts. [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Prosecutors accused the chairman of the channel, Cafer Mahiroglu, of bid rigging, bribery, and money laundering, according to Euronews. Out of 17 people sought by investigators, 11 were detained, while Mahiroglu, who lives abroad, denied the allegations and stated that the takeover was politically motivated. Outside the headquarters, supporters gathered to defend the journalists of the channel. [1]

Halk TV was established in 2005 as a Turkish nationwide free-to-air television channel with initial ties to the Republican People's Party. The channel gained wide attention for broadcasting live coverage of the 2013 Gezi Park protests, which led the media regulator RTÜK to impose a fine on the broadcaster. [7][8][10]