Police carried out a dawn raid on the widely watched, independent news channel Halk TV on October 14, signaling its takeover by a government-appointed administrator who promptly ordered the station to end its live broadcast.
Halk TV is close to the main political opposition New Party (Yeni Parti). Its journalists have reported on the imprisonment and trial of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, government moves to split the opposition, and persistent allegations of corruption in the ruling party. The seizure of the channel is part of a wider effort by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to restrict Turkish citizens’ access to independent news sources that has involved pulling the plug on several TV news outlets, prosecuting and jailing journalists and greatly escalating internet censorship.
The Istanbul prosecutor’s office ordered the arrest of Halk TV’s owner—on accusations of bribery, money-laundering, and rigging tenders—along with 16 other people. As with other takeovers of media outlets, the financial crimes investigation provides a pretext for censorship. Halk TV will now be managed by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, a state body attached to the presidency, which has been used over the past ten years to manage companies under governmental administration that are subject to criminal investigations.
Halk TV continued to report on matters of pressing public interest until the last moment: An anchor was conducting an interview about an investment fund scandal implicating prominent figures in Erdoğan’s party moments before the administrators cut the live broadcast, leaving viewers, instead, with a scene from an old Turkish film.
The takeover of Halk TV came on the very day that İmamoğlu took to the stand to begin his defense in the main politically-motivated trial against him.
The Turkish government’s steps to suppress and silence a TV station that broadcasts critical content violates not only the rights of the workers and journalists targeted but the public’s right of access to information and to freedom of expression.
Most people in Türkiye rely on television over other media for news coverage. Halk TV has been a critical voice in a country where broadcast news is increasingly monotone and government aligned. The Turkish authorities should take immediate steps to reverse the takeover of the channel. A free, pluralistic media offering varied views and opinions is a cornerstone of a democratic society.