Properties belonging to 12 critical media outlets, which the Turkish government seized under post-coup emergency rule declared in the aftermath of a controversial coup attempt, were put up for sale by the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) on October 27.
In a statement on Friday, TMSF listed properties belonging to Adana Medya newspaper, Art Tv ve Art Radio, Haber Radio Ege, Herkül Fm, Htv Hayat TV, Kanal 24 TV, Nazar newspaper, Özgür Gündem newspaper, Özgür Radio, Taraf daily, Uşak Radio Klas and Yeni Emek newspaper to be sold at auction.
A total of 942 companies with a total value of TL 40.5 billion [$11.45 billion] in assets have been transferred to TMSF since a July 15, 2016 coup attempt. The companies in question were mostly targeted as part of a sweeping state crackdown against the Gülen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the coup attempt. The movement strongly denies any involvement.
Among the seized companies are more than 160 media outlets that used to have critical editorial policies toward the government.
Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by the Stockholm Centre for Freedom (SCF) has showed that 255 journalists and media workers are now in jails as of October 28, 2017, most in pre-trial detention languishing in notorious Turkish prisons without even a conviction. Of those in Turkish prisons, 231 are arrested pending trial, only 24 journalists remain convicted and serving time in Turkish prisons. An outstanding detention warrants remain for 135 journalists who live in exile or remain at large in Turkey. (SCF with turkeypurge.com)
