Turkish police take pro-opposition channel Halk TV off air and arrest 11 in Istanbul raid

Turkish police raided the headquarters of the pro-opposition Halk TV news channel, halting its live broadcasts and arresting 11 people, the channel and prosecutors said early on Wednesday.

"Police raid at Halk TV headquarters! A trustee (manager) has been appointed, broadcasts have been halted," the channel wrote in a post on X shortly before 7:00 am (0600 CET).

Halk's news channel and the live broadcasts on its YouTube site were both offline.

It was the latest crackdown on the pro-opposition media and came just two weeks after authorities shut down the website and social media accounts of T24, a leading digital news website, citing its "LGBT propaganda."

In a statement to Turkish media, prosecutors said they had issued a warrant for 17 people, 11 of whom had been detained as part of an investigation into Halk's chairman Cafer Mahiroğlu on suspicion of "bribery", "rigging tenders," and "money laundering."

It said companies co-owned or managed by Mahiroğlu had been seized and that the authorities put a government-appointed trustee in charge of them.

Of the remaining six people named in the warrant, four were abroad, one was in a correctional facility and the last was still being sought, it said.

Mahiroğlu was not among those detained as he lives abroad.

'We're under a blockade'

In several posts as dawn was breaking, Halk journalists said they were unable to get into the building.

"The police have sealed off the entrance to our building. That’s the situation...There’s nothing left to say," wrote Onur Dalar on X, his words echoed by a colleague.

"At Halk TV, the management is now under a trustee. Broadcasting systems have been seized. Our channel is literally under blockade. I still can’t get into the institution where I’ve worked for 5 years, none of us can. The police haven’t left the building," wrote Gamze Altunay.

The move came just hours before the start of the defence's arguments in the sprawling corruption trial of jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and some 400 other defendants.

The move drew a furious reaction from the main opposition Yeni Parti and the Turkish Journalists' Union (TGS)

"In recent years, the lawlessness used by the political authorities to overcome every problem has once again struck freedom of the press today...We do not accept this tyranny!" wrote TGS on X.

And opposition leader Özgür Özel also lashed out against a TV channel "watched by millions" describing the government's action as "weak and cowardly."

"Storming a TV channel with a police raid at dawn and appointing a trustee is something only dictators do. Unfortunately, they have brought our country to this state," he wrote.

He said it was no coincidence the raids came just hours before the start of the defence arguments in İmamoğlu's trial.

"They did this on the very day the defence was to begin in Turkey’s biggest political trial. Those who appoint trustees to municipalities and usurp the will of the people have now appointed a trustee to Halk TV, watched by millions. Because they are WEAK and COWARDLY!"

Last year, Halk TV, which has faced repeated sanctions from Turkey's broadcasting regulator, was threatened with possible closure over its critical tone towards the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.