Zaman newspaper: Turkey police raid press offices in Istanbul

Turkish police fired tear gas to force their way past protesters
Turkish police fired tear gas to force their way past protesters


Date posted: March 5, 2016

Turkish police have raided the offices of Zaman, the country’s biggest newspaper, hours after a court ruling placed it under state control.

Police entered the building in Istanbul late on Friday, firing tear gas at protesters who had gathered outside.

Zaman is closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey says Hizmet is a “terrorist” group aiming to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

Mr Gulen was once an ally of Mr Erdogan but the two fell out.

Many Hizmet supporters have been arrested.

The government in Ankara has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists.

‘End of democracy’

Hundreds of Zaman supporters gathered outside the newspaper's offices to protest at the state takeover

Hundreds of Zaman supporters gathered outside the newspaper’s offices to protest at the state takeover

The court ruled on Friday that Zaman, that has a circulation of some 650,000, should now be run by administrators. No explanation was given.

Later, hundreds of Zaman supporters gathered outside the newspaper’s offices to protest at the state takeover. One held a placard saying, “We will fight for a free press.”

Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the protesters.

turkey-zaman-newspaper-2

“I believe that free media will continue even if we have to write on the walls,” Zaman’s editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici said shortly before the raid. “I don’t think it is possible to silence media in the digital age.”

He was speaking to the Cihan news agency, which was also affected by the court order.

In a tweet, Zaman journalist Emre Soncan wrote: “Turkey’s government confiscated one of the country’s last critical voices, #Zaman Daily.. The end of democracy.”

Earlier, Zaman said Turkey was going through its “darkest and gloomiest days in terms of freedom of the press”.

The newspaper’s website was still functioning on Saturday, but did not carry news of the raid.

turkey-zaman-newspaper-3

Dozens of police officers were later seen inside Zaman’s main office in Istanbul

The US state department described the takeover as “the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government”.

The move against Zaman comes days after Turkey’s Constitutional Court ordered the release from detention of two Turkish journalists charged with revealing state secrets.

Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, from the newspaper Cumhuriyet, were detained in November over a report alleging that the Turkish government had tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria.

The pair still face possible life sentences at their trial on 25 March.

Last year, two newspapers and two television channels were put under state administration over their alleged links with the Hizmet movement.


Freedom of the press in Turkey

turkey-zaman-newspaper-4

  • Turkey ranks 149th among the 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index 2015
  • Media organisations in Turkey say that more than 30 journalists are currently behind bars; most are of Kurdish origin
  • The government argues journalism in Turkey is among the most free in the world

Source: BBC , March 4, 2016


Related News

Visually impaired journalist sent to prison over Gülen links

Visually impaired Turkish journalist Cüneyt Arat was sent to prison late on Monday due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement. When Arat learned that a prison sentence approved by an upper court on Sunday, he turned himself in to the police later the same day.

Leaked emails reveal Erdoğan’s son-in-law’s team fabricated news against Gülen in US

An email included in Wikileaks’ Monday publication of the leaked emails of Berat Albayrak, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Turkey’s minister of energy, shows that Albayrak fabricated news with pro-government people in the United States in order to defame the Gülen movement in the US media.

Erdogan Gov’t aims to abolish global charity Kimse Yok Mu

Ismail Cingoz, the foundation’s chairman spoke on their future initiatives to the daily Bugün. Cingoz said they have been undergoing inspection for the past seven months. He further said as KYM they are ready for any inspection of transparency and credibility.

Questions for the government regarding prep school closure

BÜLENT KENEŞ What we have concluded after discussing the government’s plan to shut down prep schools for the past 12 days is that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is resolved to proceed with the plan. In this process we have understood that no argument about prep schools’ contributions to education, pedagogy, the principle of equal […]

Human Rights Watch Director: This is a political purge… pure and simple!

Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Director: No one pretends there were 90,000 coup plotters. This is a political purge, pure and simple. Erdogan’s Turkey.

The mother of all wars

The heart of the matter is whether the [Turkish Government] corruption charges are valid. If they are, then there will be little to say other than calling all corrupt politicians to resign. Few people are interested in this factual matter, however, as the mother of all political wars escalate everyday with accusations, counter-accusations and unabashed partisanship.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Turkish asylum claims in Greece rise 40-fold in three years

Nigeria won’t allow mistreatment of her students by Turkey – Presidency

22 businessmen sue PM Erdoğan over Hashishin remarks against Hizmet

Erdogan’s Turkey: ‘You are either with us or you are terrorists’

Why did Fethullah Gülen visit John Paul II?

Where does Gülen stand on: democracy, human rights, and minorities?

Nigerian Turkish Foundation donates educational materials to Lagos schools

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News