September 2, 2015

02/09/2015: TURKEY – SEEMO CALLS ON AUTHORITIES IN TURKEY TO RESPECT MEDIA FREEDOM

Vienna, 02/09/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to learn about police raids that occurred in the Koza İpek holding headquarters in Ankara on 1 September 2015.

The Koza İpek Media Group, İpek University, Koza İpek Holding, Kanal Türk and the home of CEO Akın İpek were raided by MASAK teams (the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, a part of the Ministry of Finance) and a police escort.

Simultaneous raids were carried out in the offices of Turkish dailies Bugün and Millet, television channels Bugün TV and Kanaltürk, and the BGNNews.com website, all of which are subsidiaries of the İpek Media Group, part of Koza İpek Holding.

Detention orders were issued against five members of the Board of Directors and the Chairman at İpek, according to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

“The state has the right to investigate the financial and other legal work of every company, including media companies. However, if the investigations are selective, and only critical media companies are singled out, these acts could represent an attempt to silence and intimidate critical reporting”, Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said.

The press freedom work of the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.