Turkish police fired teargas and rubber bullets outside the offices of the country’s biggest newspaper yesterday to disperse protests after the authorities seized control of the publication.
A court-appointed administrator is to run the Zaman newspaper group. The titles were close to the cleric Fethullah Gulen, an ally turned enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Staff turned up to work yesterday but there has been no announcement about their futures.
Erdogan has faced international condemnation over the takeover. “This is a veiled move by the president to eradicate opposition media and scrutiny of government policies,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, a researcher for Human Rights Watch.