Büşra Genel
Press freedom advocates rallied behind Turkish broadcaster TELE1 on Saturday, after authorities appointed a trustee to the channel following the detention of journalist Merdan Yanardağ in an espionage investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Representatives from major Turkish press organizations — including the Contemporary Journalists Association (ÇGD), the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the DİSK Press Union, and the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association — visited TELE1’s Ankara office in a show of solidarity. Also present were Aylin Nazlıaka, deputy chair of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), and former head of the defunct Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV), Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu.
During a press statement made in front of TELE1’s Ankara bureau, the visiting delegation condemned what they described as a growing crackdown on media freedom in Turkey and called for an end to escalating pressure on journalists.
“We reject these decisions”
Speaking during the event, ÇGD Secretary General Ceren Bayar said that media repression was incompatible with the country’s current political climate, where hopes for peace and democracy were beginning to take root.
“TELE1 has been placed under trustee control based on illegal and unjustified grounds. We absolutely do not accept this decision, and as journalists, we will fight for it to be reversed. We will remain in solidarity. At a time when even a faint hope for democracy and peace is emerging in Turkey, we, as professional associations, reject such contradictory and anti-democratic practices,” she said.
“We will fight to defend our journalism”
Following Bayar’s remarks, Sinan Tartanoğlu, head of TGS’s Ankara branch, warned that political power was seeking to silence independent media through increasing pressure.
“There are two reasons we continue to visit this place as professional organizations. First, to fight against the government’s unlawful and anti-journalism policies. Second, to reaffirm our determination to defend journalism. We entered a new phase as of yesterday. No matter how harsh the repression becomes, we will keep fighting. We stand with TELE1, with Merdan Yanardağ, and with all real journalists,” he said.
Concerns over legal violations and media suppression
Turgut Dedeoğlu, head of DİSK Press Union, echoed those concerns, saying Turkey had seen similar interventions at other media outlets and warning of the consequences.
“We’ve seen this before at many other channels. After these interventions, our colleagues were left unemployed and without unions. Many articles of the constitution are being violated here. Freedom of association, of the press, and of property are being trampled. We are here to support our journalist colleagues. Even before the so-called ‘foreign influence’ law is passed, many journalists are being accused and punished under espionage charges,” he said.
Ayhan Aydemir, vice president of the Journalists’ Association of Turkey, called the trustee appointment and seizure of TELE1 “an unlawful act.”
“As the Journalists’ Association, we see this as a hostile takeover. We want to make it clear that we fully support TELE1,” he said.
Selman Güleryüz, speaking on behalf of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association — which is based in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast — warned of broader dangers posed by such government interventions.
“I speak from a place that knows very well what trustees mean. Let me underline this clearly: if we don’t resist these kinds of power-grabbing measures, like trustee appointments, they will eventually spread into every area of our lives. That’s why we once again declare our support for TELE1,” he said.
