The Turkish government took control of leading pro-opposition news channel Halk TV through state-appointed trustees early Wednesday, halting its live broadcasts as police raided its İstanbul headquarters.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the operation was part of an investigation into Halk TV owner Cafer Mahiroğlu over allegations of bribery, bid rigging and money laundering. Prosecutors ordered the detention of 17 suspects, all of whom were taken into custody, the DHA news agency reported.
Mahiroğlu condemned the raid on Wednesday, saying seven members of his family were among those detained.
“Today is a dark day for Turkey. The public’s right to information is being seized for political reasons,” he said in a video posted on X.
The state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) was appointed as trustee to Halk TV and companies linked to Mahiroğlu.
Police blocked the road outside the channel’s headquarters and prevented employees from entering while officers searched the building. Halk TV reporter Gamze Altunay said hundreds of officers were involved.
Halk TV said Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş asked the incoming trustee to allow live programming to continue, but his request was rejected. Toktaş also refused a proposal to work with the new management, describing the takeover as unlawful. MediaRadar news website subsequently reported that prerecorded footage of a Halk TV program remained on air.
Prosecutors allege that 14.46 million lira (about $293,000) in unrecorded bribes had been paid in connection with İzmir Metropolitan Municipality tenders and that proceeds were transferred to companies owned by or linked to Mahiroğlu. They cited financial intelligence reports and witness statements in support of the allegations.
Prosecutors also said Mahiroğlu was already wanted on suspicion of bid rigging in a separate investigation into İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and had left Turkey on March 10, 2025.
İzmir, Turkey’s third-largest city and a longtime opposition stronghold, had been governed by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for more than two decades. Mayor Cemil Tugay, elected on the CHP ticket in 2024, joined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on October 7 after leaving the CHP in June.
Mahiroğlu announced the raid on social media, directing criticism at CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his allies. His initial post did not address the financial allegations.
Days before the takeover, Halk TV came under attack from Kılıçdaroğlu, who was restored in May as leader of the CHP by a court ruling overturning the party congress at which he lost the leadership in 2023.
Speaking on KRT television on October 9, Kılıçdaroğlu accused Halk TV of broadcasting false news “24 hours a day” and questioned why its owner, Mahiroğlu, remained abroad.
He also said his colleagues had complained to broadcasting regulator RTÜK, which responded that the matter fell outside its remit.
Mahiroğlu rejected the criticism, accusing Kılıçdaroğlu of targeting independent media and elected opposition politicians.
Özgür Özel, leader of the opposition New Party, condemned the raid and trustee appointment, saying such an operation against a television station was something only dictators would do.
The takeover coincided with jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu beginning his defense in a corruption trial involving alleged bribery, bid rigging and money laundering at the municipality.
Özel questioned the timing, pointing to both the trial and public demands for accountability over an investment fund scandal involving alleged market manipulation and political connections that has left investors unable to recover their savings.
Özel and 90 other lawmakers left the CHP in July to establish the New Party after Kılıçdaroğlu was restored as party leader.
The takeover of Halk TV comes amid mounting pressure on independent media in Turkey, following the recent blocking of news website T24 and sweeping restrictions on the X accounts of journalists, news organizations and rights groups.
On September 30 an İstanbul court’s order blocked access to T24’s website and social media accounts over coverage prosecutors described as “LGBT propaganda.” Prosecutors cited 118 items published over the previous year. T24 said the decision followed a campaign of online defamation against the outlet.
The Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) said at least 1,270 X accounts were subject to blocking orders in September, with the platform subsequently withholding about 90 percent of them in Turkey.
Those affected included journalists, news organizations, academics, economists and rights groups. İFÖD’s own account and its EngelliWeb censorship-monitoring project were also targeted by blocking orders in October.
Halk TV has also faced criminal investigations and broadcasting penalties. Toktaş was jailed in January 2025 over the broadcast of a telephone conversation with a court-appointed expert witness.
A court ordered his release in March after 34 days in pretrial detention and acquitted him and four colleagues of attempting to influence judicial officials.
A separate charge concerning the recording and publication of the conversation was referred for mediation.
Halk TV, one of Turkey’s leading news channels, began broadcasting on January 10, 2005. It attracted a wide audience with its live coverage of the 2013 anti-government Gezi Park protests, which began over plans to redevelop an İstanbul park and grew into nationwide antigovernment demonstrations.
Mahiroğlu bought the channel in 2020.
Turkey’s media crackdown intensified after a failed coup in July 2016, when the government used emergency decrees to shut down newspapers, television channels, radio stations and publishers. By the end of 2017, some 166 media outlets and publishing houses had been closed and their assets confiscated without compensation, the UN human rights office reported.
Turkey ranked 163rd among 180 countries and territories in Reporters Without Borders’ 2026 World Press Freedom Index, down from 159th in 2025. The group estimates that 90 percent of national media outlets are under government control.
This article is republished from Turkish Minute.
