Media freedom in Turkey

An Istanbul court has ordered the confiscation of the latest issue of Nokta magazine on the grounds that it "incites crime" due its cover, less than two months after it was first confiscated for "insulting the president." The magazine's editor-in-chief and chief news editor have been arrested. 

The United States continues to have concerns about media freedoms in Turkey, State Department Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau has said regarding the results of the Nov. 1 snap elections, while urging the country to "uphold universal democratic values."

What happened in Turkey on Oct. 28 is something that should enter the Guinness Book of World Records, if it ever includes a chapter on "authoritarianism." Two newspapers and two news channels, all very critical of the government, were taken over by government-appointed "trustees." In less polite terms, they were practically stolen by the state. 

The editorial policy of dailies Bugün and Millet, which belong to the Koza ?pek group that recently was assigned caretakers by the government, have changed their editorial policy in one night, going from anti-government to pro-government. 

The process leading to the appointment of a board of trustees to manage the Koza-?pek Group, which has seen 23 of its companies seized by a local court as part of a crackdown on followers of the government's ally-turned-nemesis Fethullah Gülen, is "entirely legal," Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has seemingly justified the appointment of a trustee board to manage the Koza-?pek group, 23 companies of which have been seized by a local court as part of a crackdown on followers of the government's ally-turned-nemesis Fethullah Gülen.

Washington urges Turkey to respect a vocal opposition and to "live up to its own democratic values," State Department Spokesperson John Kirby has said, responding to a question on the Oct. 28 seizure of media outlets owned by the Gülen-linked Koza-?pek Group. 

A day after caretakers shut down two television channels belonging to the Koza-?pek Group, control of the dailies Bugün and Millet were taken over on Oct. 29, hours after their printing were halted in the late hours of Oct. 28.

Just hours after a trustee panel shut down two television channels belonging to the Koza-?pek Group, dailies Bugün and Millet had their printing halted in the late hours of Oct. 28.  

Video shows Gülen-linked TV channels Bugün TV and Kanaltürk TV cut to black amid raid by Turkish police