Alwaght- The Turkey’s largest opposition news group famously known as Zaman, begins first day of job after its takeover under heavy police presence as the employees were allowed to enter the building when their ID was checked by police.
On Friday, an İstanbul court appointed trustees to take over the management of the Feza Media Group, which includes Turkey’s biggest-selling newspaper, the Zaman daily, as well as the Today’s Zaman daily and the Cihan news agency, dealing a fresh blow to the already battered media freedom in Turkey.
The court decision means that the entire management and the editorial board of Feza Media Group companies will be replaced by the three-member board named by the court.
According to Todayszaman, Police in riot gear pushed back Zaman supporters who stood in the rain outside its İstanbul office where they waved Turkish flags and carried placards reading "Hands off my newspaper" before they were overcome by clouds of tear gas.
Officers then forcibly broke down a gate and rushed into the building.
The decision was issued by the İstanbul 6th Criminal Court of Peace at the request of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which claimed that the media group acted upon orders from what it called the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETÖ/PDY),” praising the group and helping it achieve its goals in its publications.
The prosecutor also claimed that the alleged terrorist group is cooperating with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization to topple the Turkish government and that high-level officials of the two groups have had meetings abroad.
On Saturday, Employees working for the Feza Media Group were allowed to enter the building after an ID check by police, which have been standing guard inside and outside the building since Friday night when trustees took control of the group.
“This is how we, journos, are supposed to do our job. Under special ops standing guard, police inside #Zaman offices,” Today’s Zaman Ankara representative Abdullah Bozkurt tweeted on Saturday morning with a photo showing police standing guard in the entrance of the building while holding his heavy gun.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said a ruling by an İstanbul court to appoint trustees to Turkey’s largest media group, Feza Media Group, is the yet another attempt by the government to eradicate opposition by silencing critical media, calling on authorities to reverse the action.
