Turkish authorities have put the assets of opposition television station TELE1 up for sale, months after the detention of its editor-in-chief and the appointment of a state trustee to the broadcaster, the TR724 news website reported.
The sale was announced by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), which said it would auction the station through a combination of sealed bids and open bidding, with a deadline of June 16, 2026.
The estimated sale price was set at 28 million Turkish lira ($620,000). The assets are being offered free of existing liens or encumbrances under Turkish banking and enforcement laws governing state-managed asset sales.
The intervention dates back to October 24, 2025, when TELE1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardağ was detained on accusations of espionage, with police searching his home and the broadcaster’s Istanbul newsroom. Days later, a court ordered the station’s parent company put under TMSF control, effectively transferring management of one of Turkey’s few remaining opposition broadcasters to the state.
Prosecutors alleged that Yanardağ had links to individuals accused of ties to foreign intelligence and had used the station to influence political processes, accusations he denied as fabricated.
The takeover was carried out while the station’s main evening news was on air, with newly appointed trustees arriving at the studio and halting the live broadcast, according to press freedom groups and media reports.
The case has been widely viewed by international watchdogs as part of a broader pattern of pressure on critical media in Turkey. The Committee to Protect Journalists said the seizure of TELE1 and the prosecution of Yanardağ represented a significant blow to press freedom, while Reporters Without Borders has cited repeated legal actions against the journalist as evidence of judicial harassment.
TELE1, founded in 2017, is considered one of the few television stations in Turkey with a critical editorial line toward the government.
The station had already faced regulatory pressure prior to the takeover, including broadcast suspensions and fines imposed by Turkey’s media watchdog, part of what press freedom advocates describe as a broader pattern of sanctions targeting opposition outlets.
