# Turkish police raid opposition TV station

> Police shut down Halk TV's broadcasts and detained staff in a raid on the pro-opposition channel, the latest crackdown on critical media under President Erdoğan.
- Title: Turkish police raid opposition TV station · BBC News
- Summary: Police shut down Halk TV's broadcasts and detained staff in a raid on the pro-opposition channel, the latest crackdown on critical media under President…
- Keywords: halk tv, turkey, tayyip erdoğan, press freedom, police raid, opposition media, cafer mahiroğlu, ekrem imamoğlu, news, world, Turkish, police
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crx23y3d970vo
- Published: 2026-10-14T06:32:02.083+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: halk tv, turkey, tayyip erdoğan, press freedom, police raid, opposition media, cafer mahiroğlu, ekrem imamoğlu, news, world
## Police raid shuts down broadcasts
Turkish financial crimes police raided Halk TV headquarters in Istanbul early Wednesday, halting the pro-opposition channel's live broadcasts and taking eleven people into custody.
## Charges against channel owner
Prosecutors issued arrest warrants for seventeen people including Halk chairman Cafer Mahiroğlu on allegations of bribery, rigging tenders and money laundering. Mahiroğlu was reportedly not in the country.
## Owner calls it political persecution
Mahiroğlu said seven family members were detained and called the raid a dark day for Turkey. He wrote that the public's right to information is being seized for political reasons.

> Today is a dark day for Turkey. The public's right to information is being seized for political reasons.
## Part of wider media crackdown
The raid comes as Ekrem Imamoğlu, seen as Erdoğan's biggest political rival, begins his defence against corruption charges.
## Opposition condemns authoritarian move
Özgür Özel, leader of the opposition New Party, called the raid weak and cowardly.The Istanbul Bar Association denounced the move as something only dictators do.Ninety percent of national media outlets are under government control.

> Storming a TV channel with a police raid at dawn and appointing a trustee is something only dictators do.
## Key takeaway

Turkish police raided Halk TV, a pro-opposition news channel, halting its broadcasts and detaining eleven people in what critics say is another attack on press freedom under President Erdoğan.