Turkish Authorities Seize Halk TV, Install State Trustee and Halt Live Broadcasts

Turkish authorities raided Halk TV’s headquarters in Istanbul before dawn on Wednesday, installed the state Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, or TMSF, as trustee and halted the channel’s live broadcasts, in a major intervention at one of the country’s best-known independent and pro-opposition television stations.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the move was part of a financial-crimes investigation targeting Halk TV owner Cafer Mahiroğlu. Prosecutors alleged bribery, bid-rigging and money laundering and said a court-ordered seizure led to TMSF being appointed to manage Halk TV and companies linked to Mahiroğlu. Turkish media reports citing the prosecutor’s office said detention orders were issued for 17 people and that 11 were detained in early-morning raids.

Police searches were carried out by financial-crimes teams, according to local media reports, and some employees were blocked from entering the building. Reuters and other outlets reported that Halk TV management asked to keep live programming on the air, but that request was refused by the newly installed administrator. Human Rights Watch said the channel was cut off while an anchor was interviewing a guest about an investment-fund scandal involving figures linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s party, underscoring how abruptly the takeover interrupted broadcasting.

Halk TV is a widely watched independent news channel and one of Turkey’s more prominent broadcasters critical of the government. The takeover came the same day that Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading opposition figure, began presenting his defense in the main trial against him, a timing noted by Turkish media and rights groups.

The intervention carries added weight because television remains the main source of news for most people in Turkey, making control of a major TV outlet significant beyond the company itself. TMSF is a state body used to manage companies whose assets are seized in criminal investigations, and it has also been used in other media takeovers in 2025 and 2026, including at TELE1 and media assets linked to Can Holding. Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 163rd out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index.

Rights groups and journalist organizations condemned the raid and trusteeship as another blow to independent media in Turkey. Human Rights Watch said, “Police carried out a dawn raid on the widely watched, independent news channel Halk TV on October 14, signaling its takeover by a government-appointed administrator who promptly ordered the station to end its live broadcast.” Amnesty International’s Turkey campaigner, Milena Büyüm, called the move “a direct assault on freedom of expression, including the right to give and receive information.”