Turkish police have raided Halk TV, a television station critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government, disrupting its live broadcasts and preventing staff from entering its Istanbul headquarters.
The channel said a new manager had been appointed to oversee its operations. Turkish media reports said financial crimes investigators searched the building and detained 11 people in an investigation involving the station’s owner, Cafer Mahiroğlu.
Prosecutors reportedly issued arrest warrants for 17 people over allegations of bribery, tender manipulation and money laundering. Mahiroğlu was reportedly outside Turkey during the raid and said seven members of his family were among those detained. The allegations have not been established in court.
Halk TV is widely regarded as sympathetic to the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and regularly criticises Erdoğan’s ruling AK Party. Both its television news service and live YouTube broadcasts were offline early on Wednesday.
Mahiroğlu condemned the operation, describing it as an attempt to restrict the public’s access to information for political reasons.
The Istanbul Bar Association also criticised the raid, which took place hours before Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and Erdoğan’s leading political rival, was scheduled to begin presenting his defence in a corruption case. İmamoğlu has been in prison for more than a year.
Özgür Özel, leader of the opposition New Party, described the operation as “weak and cowardly”. He also criticised the appointment of an outside manager to run the broadcaster, arguing that such actions were characteristic of authoritarian rule.
The raid comes amid wider concerns about press freedom in Turkey. Reporters Without Borders ranked the country 163rd out of 180 nations in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index. The organisation said most national media outlets were under government control and raised concerns about legal action against critical media organisations.
Erdoğan has led Turkey since 2003, while relations between his government and opposition groups have remained strained over political competition, legal proceedings and media independence.
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