This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/04/turkish-police-fire-teargas-and-enter-top-selling-newspaper-after-seizure-order

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Turkish police fire teargas during raid on top-selling newspaper Turkish police fire teargas at protesters at seized newspaper
(about 17 hours later)
Turkish authorities have seized control of the country’s largest newspaper in a widening crackdown against supporters of the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, an influential foe of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkish riot police have fired plastic bullets and tear gas to disperse protesters who gathered outside the country’s top selling newspaper the day after it was seized by authorities in a violent raid.
Police fired teargas and water cannons on Friday to disperse a few thousand supporters who gathered outside the offices of the Zaman newspaper and chanted: “Free press cannot be silenced.” The swoop against Zaman raised fresh concerns over declining media freedoms in Turkey, a key EU ally, ahead of a visit by the country’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, to Brussels on Monday for a crucial summit meeting with EU leaders.
Rights groups and European officials criticised the confiscation of Zaman and its sister publication, the English-language Today’s Zaman, which occurred on the eve of a summit between Turkey and the European Union and as concerns mount that the Turkish government is stifling critical media. In what is seen as a widening crackdown against supporters of the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, an influential ally-turned-foe of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the newspaper was ordered into administration by the court on the request of Istanbul prosecutors, local media reported.
Zaman is linked to Gulen’s movement. Erdoğan accuses the cleric of conspiring to overthrow the government by building a network of supporters in the judiciary, police and media. Gulen denies the charges. The two men were allies until police and prosecutors seen as sympathetic to Gulen opened a corruption probe into Erdoğan’s inner circle in 2013. Abdülhamit Bilici, Zaman’s editor-in-chief, said: “It has been a habit for the last three, four years, that anyone who is speaking against government policies is facing either court cases or prison, or such control by the government. This is a dark period for our country, our democracy.”
Administrators were appointed to run Zaman at the request of an Istanbul prosecutor, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Officials were not immediately available to confirm the reports. “This means the practical end of media freedom in Turkey. The media has always been under pressure, but it has never been so blatant,” Sevgi Akarçeşme, the editor-in-chief of Today’s Zaman, told Reuters. The seizure of the paper was violent. Police fired teargas and water cannons on Friday to disperse a few thousand supporters who gathered outside the newspaper offices and chanted: “Free press cannot be silenced.”
Using bolt cutters to unlock the iron gate in front of the building, dozens of police then marched into the premises to seize the headquarters and formally place it under administration, pushing aside anyone who stood in their way, media images showed.
Once the building was cleared, the court-appointed administrators – the lawyers Tahsin Kaplan and Metin Ilhan and the writer Sezai Şengönül – were bussed inside the complex to begin their work, local media reported.
Gov't caretakers are trying to erase the whole news achieve of #Turkey's best-selling daily #Zaman on Intranet & Internet. Unbelievable.
On Saturday, the newspaper’s internet connection was cut off and staff were unable to access the publication’s intranet or email system, according to Zaman members of staff on Twitter.
All internet connection is cut off at the seized #zaman building by police raid.We are not able to work anymore. #FreeMediaCannotBeSilenced
We've lost access to our email accounts at #Zaman. No explanation, no notification whatsoever. #Turkey. They're pulling plugs on everything.
Zamen is the county’s biggest newspaper, with an estimated circulation of 650,000. It went to print earlier than usual on Friday evening and the number of its pages was reduced to 16 from 24, one of its journalists said.
On Saturday, a defiant edition was published warning of the “darkest days” in the history of the press. “The Constitution is suspended,” it said on its front page in large font on a black background.
Sevgi Akarçeşme, the editor-in-chief of Today’s Zaman, told Reuters: “This means the practical end of media freedom in Turkey. The media has always been under pressure, but it has never been so blatant.
“Taking over a newspaper is against the constitution, especially since there are no grounds for it. This amounts to the suspension of the constitution.”“Taking over a newspaper is against the constitution, especially since there are no grounds for it. This amounts to the suspension of the constitution.”
Abdülhamit Bilici, the editor-in-chief of Zaman, said: “It has been a habit for the last three, four years, that anyone who is speaking against government policies is facing either court cases or prison, or such control by the government. This is a dark period for our country, our democracy.” The move has received heavy criticism by human rights campaigners and other countries. Johannes Hahn, the EU enlargement commissioner, said he was “extremely worried” by the move “which jeopardises progress” made by Turkey in other areas.
Zaman is Turkey’s biggest selling newspaper, with a circulation of 650,000 as of the end of February, according to MedyaTava, a website monitoring the media sector. He warned on Twitter that Turkey, which is a long-standing candidate to join the EU, needs to “respect the freedom of the media” and rights were “not negotiable”.
Police in riot gear pushed back Zaman supporters who stood in the rain outside its Istanbul office where they waved Turkish flags and carried placards reading “Hands off my newspaper” before they were overcome by clouds of teargas, live footage on Zaman’s website showed. John Kirby, a spokesperson for the US, said the court order was “the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it”.
Officers then forcibly broke down a gate and rushed into the building. The footage showed them scuffling with Zaman staff inside the offices. Kirby said: “We urge Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in their own constitution, including freedom of speech and especially freedom of the press.”
“Zaman Media Group being silenced in Turkey. Crackdown on press freedom continues sadly,” Kati Piri, the European parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, tweeted. The newspaper’s link to Gülen’s movement is said to be behind the raid. The president accuses the cleric of conspiring to overthrow the government by building a network of supporters in the judiciary, police and media. Gülen denies the charges. Gülen and Erdoğan were allies until police and prosecutors seen as sympathetic to Gülen opened a corruption probe into the Turkish president’s inner circle in 2013.
The EU is accused of turning a blind eye to Turkey’s human rights breaches, including the deaths of hundreds of civilians during security operations against Kurdish militants, because it needs Turkey’s help curbing the flow of migrants. Local media said the court order was issued on the grounds that Zaman supported the activities of a “terror organisation” that Gülen is accused of running.
Gülen has been based in the US since 1999 when he fled charges against him. Despite living outside of Turkey, Gülen has built up huge influence in the country.
There have been numerous legal crackdowns on structures linked to this network and on Friday, Turkish police arrested four executives of one of the country’s largest conglomerates, accusing them of financing Gülen.
The effective seizure of the newspaper by the state added to concerns over freedom of expression in Turkey under Erdoğan’s rule.
The daily Cumhuriyet newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Can Dündar, and the Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gül, were released on an order from Turkey’s top court last week after three months in jail on charges of publishing state secrets but they still face trial on 25 March.
Erdoğan has accused Gülen of operating a “parallel state structure” bent on toppling him. Government officials have also accused Gülen’s followers of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Gülen denies such links and describes the PKK as a terrorist organisation.