ISTANBUL
— Istanbul police used tear gas in a dawn raid Wednesday on the
headquarters of a major media company linked to a government critic,
enforcing a court order to seize the business just days before Turkey
holds a national election.
Police
scuffled with hundreds of Koza-Ipek Holding employees, supporters and
opposition legislators before breaking down the company's iron gates and
escorting the newly appointed trustees into the building. The melee was
broadcast live by Bugun TV and Kanal Turk.
A
prosecutor has ordered Koza-Ipek Holding placed under the management of
a trustee while its ties to the movement led by Fethullah Gulen, a
U.S.-based moderate Islamic cleric, are investigated. The government
accuses the movement of trying to destabilize the state and prosecutors
have labeled it a terrorist organization.
Critics
denounced the raid as a government crackdown on opposition voices ahead
of Sunday's parliamentary election. Koza-Ipek owns opposition
television stations Bugun TV and Kanal Turk, the Bugun and Millet
newspapers and other business interests.
The
government has cracked down on Gulen followers since December 2013,
when prosecutors launched a corruption investigation into government
ministers and people close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan
alleges that the corruption probes were part of an attempted coup.
Hundreds
of police and judiciary officials suspected of ties to Gulen's movement
have been dismissed. In May, Turkey's banking regulator seized a bank
associated with the movement.
On
Wednesday, Bugun TV editor Tarik Toros was seen arguing with the
trustee manager who entered the station's control room, apparently to
prevent a live broadcast of the raid. The two television channels went
off the air hours later as Toros was on live, vowing to fight for media
freedoms.
Outside,
protesters chanted "Free media cannot be silenced!" Some demonstrators
were thrown to the ground before being detained, while others used
umbrellas to shield their faces from police pepper spray.
Opposition parties denounced the seizure as an unlawful attempt by Erdogan to silence critical media.
"We
are faced with an unacceptable incident," said Haluk Koc, a deputy
chairman of main opposition the Republican People's Party. "(Erdogan)
sees himself as above the law and is busy massacring laws as he sees
fit."
There was no immediate government comment.
U.S.
State Department spokesman John Kirby urged Turkey to "uphold universal
democratic values ... including due process, freedom of expression and
assembly, and of course access to media and information."
EU spokeswoman Catherine Ray said: "We want to reiterate the importance of the respect of the rule of law and media freedom."
Akin Ipek, Koza-Ipek's executive board chairman, has denied allegations of financial wrongdoing by the company.
"The
group has been audited by independent companies since it was founded.
They are lying and trying to slur us," Ipek said in a telephone
interview with Bugun TV as police attempted to enter the building.
Journalism groups also condemned the seizure.
The
government "is trying to silence every single dissenter days ahead of
the election," the Ankara-based Contemporary Journalists' Association
said in a statement.
The
seizure comes amid more widespread pressure on media in Turkey that
international watchdogs have called a crisis for the free press. Last
month, the headquarters of the secular-leaning Turkish daily Hurriyet
was vandalized by a mob following verbal attacks on the newspaper by
Erdogan. see more
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Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.
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