Turkish authorities seize news agency as media crackdown continues

Turkish authorities reportedly seized control of the Cihan news agency late on Monday night as the crackdown against media outlets viewed as allied with US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen widens.

Cihan said in a statement on its website that the state prosecutor had requested that an Istanbul court appoint an administrator to take control of the news agency.

The apparent request comes days after Turkish authorities took over the country’s main opposition newspaper, Zaman, prompting criticism from the European Union about restrictions on media freedom in Turkey.

Cihan is part of Feza Publications, which also owns Zaman and a weekly news magazine called Aksiyon.

Zaman and Cihan are among numerous opposition outlets viewed by the Turkish government as being allied to the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was once an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but is now his main foe.

Erdogan has persistently accused Gulen of attempting to build a secret state among the judiciary, media, and police aimed at overthrowing him. Gulen denies the allegations.

The two leaders were allies until Gulen’s allies opened a corruption investigation into the president’s inner circle in 2013.

The latest closure comes as EU ministers met the Turkish prime minister in Brussels to discuss ways to curb the flow of refugees from Turkey.

After Turkish authorities ransacked Zaman’s offices, EU leaders raised the issue of media freedom with Turkish officials at the summit on Monday.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the seizure of Zaman was “unacceptable and went against European values”.