Turkish Police Raid ‘Zaman Daily’ in Istanbul
KABUL: (MEP) Turkish police have raided the headquarters of the opposition ‘Zaman daily newspaper’ by using water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds protesting outside the building.
The move on Friday following a government decision to take over the management of the media group has widening crackdown against supporters of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, an influential foe of President Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish authorities say Gulen 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.
The protesters chanted, “Free press cannot be silenced!”, and held up signs that read, “Don’t touch my newspaper!”
Zaman editor-in-chief Abdülhamit Bilici said the decision marked a “black day for democracy”, as he addressed the crowd.
“Today, we are experiencing a shameful day for media freedom in Turkey. Our media institutions are being seized,” Today’s Zaman editor-in-chief Sevgi Akarçeşme said.
After clearing their way through the crowd in front of the newspaper’s HQ, the officers pushed their way inside the building.
“Throw him off the staircase!” one of the officers allegedly shouted, as the raid squad pushed one of the publication’s employees down to the hall, according to a tweet written by a Zaman employee.
The newspaper’s website was still functioning on Saturday, but did not carry news of the raid.
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.
