The key facts

  • Police halted Halk TV's broadcast, 11 of 17 wanted individuals detained, an external trustee appointed
  • The raid is linked to the case of channel chairman Cafer Mahiroglu, who lives abroad and rejects the charges
  • The raid coincided with the start of the defense in the corruption trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu

Raid and Broadcast Halt

Early in the morning on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Turkish police raided the headquarters of the opposition TV channel Halk TV in Istanbul. The channel's live broadcasts, including on YouTube, were halted, the building was cordoned off, and journalists were not allowed inside. The authorities appointed an external trustee to the channel. The channel itself reported this on X shortly before 7:00 a.m. local time. Instead of live broadcasts, pre-recorded programs were aired. Financial crimes investigators conducted a search of the building.

Charges and Detentions

The Istanbul prosecutor's office stated that the raid was connected to an investigation against the channel's chairman Cafer Mahiroglu, who is accused of bribery, tender fraud and money laundering. Arrest warrants were issued for 17 people, 11 of whom were detained. Of the remaining six, four are abroad, one is in a correctional facility, and one more is still being sought. Mahiroglu himself, who according to Euronews lives abroad and according to Deutsche Welle in London, was not detained. Companies in which he holds a stake or which he manages were seized, and external trustees were also appointed to them. Mahiroglu rejected the charges and called the seizure of the channel politically motivated, stating that 'society's right to information is being seized for political reasons.'

Reaction of the Opposition and Journalists

Journalists at the channel reported on social media that they could not enter the building. Editor-in-chief Suat Toktas unsuccessfully tried to persuade the appointed trustee to resume live broadcasts and called what was happening 'unlawful.' The leader of the opposition Yeni Parti, Ozgur Ozel, called the day of the raid a dark day for Turkey and stated: 'Storming a TV channel with police at dawn and appointing a trustee — only dictators do that.' He pointed out that the raid took place on the day the defense began in the Imamoglu trial. The Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) condemned the raid as arbitrariness and wrote that it 'does not accept this arbitrariness.' MP Mahir Basarir warned against establishing control over media critical of the government. Amnesty International called for the channel's independence to be restored. Supporters gathered outside the building in support of the journalists.

Context: The Imamoglu Trial and Pressure on the Media

The raid took place a few hours before the start of defense statements in a large-scale corruption trial against the imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and about 400 other defendants. According to Deutsche Welle, the prosecutor's office is seeking a total of 2,352 years of imprisonment for Imamoglu on 142 counts, including creating and leading a criminal organization; he rejects the charges as politically motivated. Imamoglu, who won the Istanbul mayoral election in 2019 and was arrested on March 19, 2025, is considered one of Erdogan's main political rivals. Halk TV, which has been broadcasting since January 10, 2005, and gained wide fame during the 2013 Gezi Park protests (Mahiroglu took over the channel in 2020), regularly criticizes Erdogan's government and covered the Imamoglu trial in detail. In recent years the channel has repeatedly faced sanctions from the regulator, and last year it faced possible closure. Two weeks earlier, the authorities shut down the website and social media of the outlet T24, citing 'LGBT propaganda.' In the Reporters Without Borders ranking, Turkey ranks 163rd out of 180 countries for press freedom.