Turkey authorities seize control of Halk TV opposition channel

Turkish police have taken control of Halk TV, the country’s leading opposition news channel, following a raid on October 14, 2026. During the operation, eleven individuals were arrested, and live broadcasts were interrupted to make way for religious programming. Arrest warrants have been issued for 17 people, including the station’s CEO, Cafer Mahiroglu, who is based in London.

Authorities justified the takeover by citing allegations of corruption, money laundering, and bid-rigging. However, Mahiroglu described the event as a ‘dark day for Turkey’ and suggested the move is a tactic to divert public attention from a major political-financial scandal. This scandal involves the September liquidation of investment funds containing $17 billion in toxic assets, which reportedly affected approximately 500,000 small investors and implicates high-ranking officials within the ruling AKP party.

This incident follows a pattern of increasing pressure on independent media in Turkey, including the previous takeover of the opposition channel Tele 1 and the recent blocking of the news site T24.