Turkish authorities have ordered access blocked to the personal social media account of Cafer Mahiroğlu, the owner of Halk TV, a leading pro-opposition television station taken over by the state last week, accusing him of making statements intended to incite the public, the İlke TV news website reported.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the restriction, alleging that Mahiroğlu had made statements intended to incite the public over events outside the broadcaster’s İstanbul headquarters.
Prosecutors alleged that Mahiroğlu used a company called Bustech to receive payments for subcontracting work and subsequently transferred the money to other companies linked to him. They did not establish in the account cited that the transactions were unlawful.
Prosecutors also accused Mahiroğlu of publicly disseminating misleading information, claiming that he had portrayed the financial investigation as an operation targeting Halk TV in an attempt to shield himself from scrutiny.
The reports did not identify the specific statements that prompted the restriction or establish whether the social media platform had implemented the order against his personal account.
The latest decision came as X made Halk TV’s account, which has approximately 3 million followers, unavailable to users in Turkey on October 21, according to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), a Turkish digital rights group.
Authorities had ordered the broadcaster’s X account blocked on October 14.
The October 14 orders also targeted Halk TV’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Telegram accounts, which, together with its X account, had more than 8.5 million followers and subscribers, according to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), a Turkish organization that monitors restrictions on press freedom and provides legal assistance to journalists.
The restrictions followed a police raid on Halk TV’s İstanbul headquarters on October 14, when authorities halted its live broadcasts and appointed the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) as trustee to the station and companies linked to Mahiroğlu.
The takeover was part of an investigation into allegations of bribery, bid rigging and money laundering involving Mahiroğlu. Prosecutors had also issued a detention warrant for Mahiroğlu, who was abroad.
Mahiroğlu has denied the allegations and condemned the takeover as politically motivated.
“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 on October 14.
The restrictions on Halk TV’s corporate accounts were imposed under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Internet Law No. 5651, which allows authorities to order online content removed or access blocked on grounds including national security, public order and the prevention of crime. The legal provision used to restrict Mahiroğlu’s personal account was not identified in the reports.
The provision has repeatedly been criticized for enabling broad restrictions on online expression. In a September 2023 judgment Turkey’s Constitutional Court found that Article 8/A lacked sufficient safeguards against arbitrary interference by public authorities and ruled that its use to block access to a news website had violated freedom of expression and press freedom.
The takeover of Halk TV and restrictions on its social media accounts have drawn condemnation from press freedom organizations. In an October 15 joint statement, 13 organizations, including MLSA, called on authorities to reverse the trustee appointment, allow the broadcaster to resume its programming and lift the restrictions on its online accounts.
