Turkish police shut down pro-opposition Halk TV, hold 11 in raid on station

Authorities install trustee manager, say 17 suspects sought in corruption probe of chairman Cafer Mahiroglu, who lives abroad; opposition lawmakers, journalist union protest

Turkish police raided the headquarters of the pro-opposition Halk TV in Istanbul, halting its live broadcasts and arresting 11 people, the channel and prosecutors said early Wednesday.

“Police raid at Halk TV headquarters! A trustee (manager) has been appointed, broadcasts have been halted,” the channel wrote on X shortly before 7 a.m. (0400 GMT).

Halk’s news channel and the live broadcasts on its YouTube site were both offline.

It was the latest crackdown on the pro-opposition media and came just two weeks after the authorities shut down the website and social media accounts of T24, a leading digital news website, citing its “LGBT propaganda.”

In a statement to Turkish media, prosecutors said they had issued a warrant for 17 people, 11 of whom had been detained as part of an investigation into Halk’s chairman Cafer Mahiroglu on suspicion of “bribery,” “rigging tenders,” and “money laundering.”

It said companies co-owned or managed by Mahiroglu had been seized and that the authorities put a government-appointed trustee in charge of them.

Of the remaining six people named in the warrant, four were abroad, one was in a correctional facility, and the last was still being sought, it said.

Mahiroglu was not among those detained as he lives abroad.

Halk TV Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Cafer Mahiroğlu'ndan Halk TV'ye kayyum atanması sonrası çağrı:

"Kanalımızı mutlaka geri alacağız"

"Sizleri Halk TV'ye sahip çıkmaya davet ediyorum. Bu sınavdan başarılı bir şekilde çıkacağız" pic.twitter.com/TFerRQMWzL

— Halk TV (@halktvcomtr) October 14, 2026

In a video posted to the channel’s X account, Mahiroglu vowed: “We will definitely take back our channel.”

“I invite you all to stand by Halk TV. We will emerge from this ordeal successfully,” he said.

‘We’re under a blockade’

In several posts as dawn was breaking, Halk journalists said they were unable to get into the building.

“The police have sealed off the entrance to our building. That’s the situation… There’s nothing left to say,” wrote Onur Dalar on X, his words echoed by a colleague.

“At Halk TV, the management is now under a trustee. Broadcasting systems have been seized. Our channel is literally under blockade. I still can’t get into the institution where I’ve worked for 5 years — none of us can. The police haven’t left the building,” wrote Gamze Altunay.

The move came just hours before the start of the defense’s arguments in the sprawling corruption trial of jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and some 400 other defendants.

The move drew a furious reaction from the main opposition Yeni Parti and the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS)

“In recent years, the lawlessness used by the political authorities to overcome every problem has once again struck freedom of the press today… We do not accept this tyranny!” wrote TGS on X.

Deposed leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel arrives for a rally in Izmir, Turkey, May 26, 2026. (Erdem Sahin/AP)

And opposition leader Ozgur Ozel also lashed out against a TV channel “watched by millions,” describing the government’s action as “weak and cowardly.”

“Storming a TV channel with a police raid at dawn and appointing a trustee is something only dictators do. Unfortunately, they have brought our country to this state,” he wrote.

He said it was no coincidence the raids came just hours before the start of the defense arguments in Imamoglu’s trial.

“They did this on the very day the defense was to begin in Turkey’s biggest political trial. Those who appoint trustees to municipalities and usurp the will of the people have now appointed a trustee to Halk TV, watched by millions. Because they are WEAK and COWARDLY!”

Later in the day, Halk TV posted to X a short clip of showing members of Ozel’s opposition New Party protesting the developments by wearing black bands across their eyes as they attended a Parliamentary Plan and Budget Commission meeting.

Halk TV'ye kayyum atanması kararı, Meclis'te Plan ve Bütçe Komisyonu'nda protesto edildi.

YENİ Parti milletvekilleri siyah bant takarak karara tepki gösterdi.https://t.co/Br1T4oXLEY pic.twitter.com/5hOvVqgP7e

— Halk TV (@halktvcomtr) October 14, 2026

Last year, Halk TV — which has faced repeated sanctions from Turkey’s broadcasting regulator — was threatened with possible closure over its critical tone toward the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.