Turkish police have stormed the offices of an opposition media group days before the country’s pivotal election, in a crackdown on companies linked to a US-based cleric and critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The authorities seized 22 companies owned by Koza Ipek on Tuesday in an investigation of alleged financial irregularities, including whether it funded Gülen. The company denies wrongdoing.
Erdoğan has led a crackdown against once influential followers of Gülen
Legal action against other opposition newspapers, including the nationalist Sözcü, was planned for after the vote, said Aydin Ünal, a legislator in the ruling AK party.
“After 1 November, we will hold them accountable. Sözcü newspaper insults us every day,” Ünal, a former Erdoğan adviser, told A Haber channel. “There is a lot of pressure on Turkey. If we say something, the world accuses us of interfering with the press, so we’re not in a comfortable position now, but after 1 November we will settle up with all of them.”
A prosecutor is seeking a prison sentence of up to 34 years for Gülen on allegations that he ran a “parallel” structure within state institutions that sought to topple Erdoğan, who has led Turkey, first as prime minister, then president, since 2003.
A number of prominent journalists who worked at Gülen-affiliated newspapers and TV stations are in pre-trial detention on similar charges.
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