A court in Istanbul today ordered that Turkey's largest-circulation newspaper, which is linked to an opposition cleric, be placed under the management of trustees a move that heightens concerns over deteriorating press freedoms in Turkey.
The court action against Zaman newspaper comes as the government has intensified a campaign against the moderate Islamic movement led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. It accuses the movement of attempting to bring down the government.
The case was brought by a public prosecutor in Istanbul and means that the editorial board and management will be replaced by people named by the court.
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The move, which also affects Zaman's sister newspaper, English-language Today's Zaman, and a news agency linked to the group, further reduces the pool of opposition television and newspapers in the country, which is dominated by pro-government television channels and newspapers.
Hundreds of people gathered outside of the paper's headquarters in Istanbul in a show of support. Zaman Editor-in-Chief Abdulhamid Bilici addressed his colleagues on the grounds of the newspaper, calling the court decision a "black day for democracy" in Turkey as journalists and other newspaper workers held up signs that read: "Don't touch my newspaper" and chanted "free press cannot be silenced!"
The US-based watchdog, Freedom House, criticised the appointment of trustees and called on the European Union and the United States to speak out against the move. The EU, in particular, has been accused of keeping mute about human rights abuses and the deteriorating freedoms in Turkey because of the country's crucial role in curtailing the flow of migrants to Europe.
"The appointment of trustees to run Zaman amounts to a government takeover of a private media outlet, and is a flagrant violation of both rule of law and freedom of the press," said Daniel Calingaert, Freedom's House executive vice president.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey's main opposition party, called the court decision "a violation of media freedoms" and "proof" that Erdogan and the government consider "all dissenting voices as criminal organizations."
Gulen, who has lived in the United States since 1999, was once President Recep Tayyip Errdogan's ally but the two have fallen out.
The government accuses the Gulen movement of orchestrating corruption allegations in December 2013 against ministers and people close to Erdogan as a plot to overthrow it. Authorities have since branded the movement a terror organization, although it is not known to have carried out acts of violence. Gulen was placed on trial in absentia last year on charges of attempting to topple the government.
