Turkey police raid opposition TV station, halting live broadcasts
Halk TV says its staff are unable to enter the building in Istanbul, and a new manager was appointed to run the channel.
Turkey police raid opposition TV station, halting live broadcasts
Turkish police have raided the headquarters of a pro-opposition TV channel, stopping its live broadcasts.
Halk TV said its staff were unable to enter the building in Istanbul on Wednesday morning, and that a new manager had been appointed to run the channel.
Reports in Turkish media said financial crimes police were searching the building and that 17 arrest warrants had been issued in the raid linked to the channel's owner.
Halk TV has been viewed by many in the country as close to the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). It frequently criticizes President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AK party.
In May, a Turkish court removed the CHP leadership from running the party, in a legal move that the opposition said further cemented Erdoğan's grip on power.
Meanwhile, Istanbul's popular Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, widely seen as Erdoğan's biggest political rival, has been in prison for over a year over corruption accusations. He denies all the charges.
Turkey demands more than 2,000 years in jail for popular Istanbul mayor