At around 4:40 a.m. local time (1:40 a.m. GMT), special operations police officers supported by armored water cannons took up positions in front of the critical İpek Media Group offices in the Şişli neighborhood of Istanbul’s European side. A large crowd of citizens and journalists who had remained outside the premises all night long in support of the embattled media group protested their arrival with jeers.
On Monday, less than a week before the Nov. 1 snap election, Ankara ordered the seizure of Koza İpek Holding, which owns several media properties critical of the government.
Upon a request by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Musa Yücel, Ankara 5th Criminal Peace Magistrate Judge Yunus Süer ordered Koza İpek Holding be put under receivership, with a variety of pro-government trustees, including the strongly pro-government Sabah-ATV Media Group, appointed to replace the current board of directors.
Informed of the arrival of police early Wednesday morning, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Mahmut Tanal arrived on the scene. Speaking with reporters, the former lawyer explained the legal framework regarding the appointment of trustees and underlined that the ongoing actions were a violation of the law. He added that police had no authority to enforce the receivership until it was finalized.
CHP deputy Eren Erdem echoed that the entire affair was a violation of the law, highlighting that under Article 30 of the Turkish Constitution, media outlets cannot be seized as criminal instruments.
At 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday, police forces attempted to enter the offices. Resisted by the large crowd waiting outside, they lobbed tear gas and fired from their mobile water cannons. Many citizens were detained and CHP deputy Mahmut Tanal was roughed up.
At 8:15 a.m., the police broke down the gates of the offices and stormed the premises, dragging İpek Media employees along with them. Several were detained with plastic restraint cuffs.
CHP deputy Mahmut Tanal warned the officers that they had no right to enforce the decision at the time; MP Eren Erdem also grabbed a microphone and continued warning the police against the use of force.
At 8:25 a.m., the police managed to break down the doors to the building after firing tear gas and assaulting the reporters who resisted in front of the doors.
At 8:30 a.m., the police began going through the building room by room and forcing the employees outside.
At 8:35 a.m., the appointed trustees entered the meeting room.
At 8:40 a.m., the police once again began firing tear gas and water cannons at the citizens outside.
Meanwhile, CHP deputy Barış Yarkadaş made a statement to the press: “The government has now made the police accomplices to their crime. Today is a shameful day. We are now seeing the last moments of Bugün TV broadcasting freely – Oct. 28, 2015. Everyone who made this decision and those who implemented it will have to answer for their crimes before history.”
At 8:42 a.m., Bugün TV head Tarık Toros also spoke to the press: “This is not some textile workshop. If trustees are appointed to the management, the broadcast continues. But they’re trying something else! If our broadcast ends, then it is media censorship. It is an attempt to influence the election.”
At 9:07 a.m., police began tearing the cables out of cameras to prevent live footage.
At 9:10 a.m., Bugün daily court reporter Kamil Maman was detained. “The police are taking me to the Şişli police station. The police who attacked me inside the building and detained me knew my name beforehand,” he tweeted as he was being taken away.
At 9:20 a.m., police forces cut broadcast of the channel Kanaltürk.
At 9:30 a.m., the police stormed the command center of news channel Bugün TV and attempted to cut broadcast.
At 9:45 a.m., Today's Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş, who had arrived at İpek Media offices in a show of solidarity, was attacked by the police.
At 11:05 a.m., the appointed trustee with his police escort attempted to cut the satellite feed for Bugün TV, but was unsuccessful.
At 11:30 a.m., another large group of police officers stormed İpek Media offices and spread out through the building. Bugün TV moved to the control room and continued broadcasting from there.
At 1:50 p.m., pro-Kurdish, left wing People's Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş visited the offices of İpek Media Group in a show of solidarity.
Demirtaş spoke to Bugün TV in the control room: “It is unbelievable for a state, a government, to be acting like the mafia, like an illegal organization... Firing tear gas, using batons, cutting the camera cables are mafia-like, gang-like practices."
“This is a reflection of a government's mindset based on force [and] power. It also raises suspicions [as it comes] just a couple of days before the election. It raises questions about whether or not they have a plan, or some hesitation about what would have been broadcast on election day,” Demirtaş added.
At 2:45 p.m., CHP's Barış Yarkadaş announced that the police were torturing citizens protesting outside in front of İpek Media offices.
At 3:45 p.m., CHP's Mahmut Tanal announced that around 30-40 plainclothes police officers had entered İpek Media Group offices.
At 4:15 p.m., footage revealed a large group of plainclothes officers entering the building and dispersing throughout the premises.
At 4:30 p.m., the plainclothes officers entered the satellite uplink room to turn off the feeds of Bugün and Kanaltürk TV.
At 4:34 p.m., the satellite uplink was shut off. When İpek Media employees asked to see documentation ordering the broadcast cut, the new trustees simply said they had taken the decision and that was enough.
At 4:45 p.m., Bugün TV Editor-in-Chief Tarık Toros was escorted by police officers out of the broadcasting room. A hand-written notice from the new executive board of Bugün TV declared that Toros had been sacked.
At 5:15 p.m., the police ordered the crowd gathered in front of building to clear the road.
At 11:35 p.m., trustees appointed to Koza İpek group halted the publication of Thursday’s print editions of two dailies that are included in the holding’s media group.