The leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu also denounced the court decision and called it “a violation of law targeting media freedom” which serves the ambitions of Erdogan and his party.
Today, in Istanbul, Turkish police forces have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered to voice their anger at government’s takeover of the daily.
It is reported that on Friday afternoon, the police forces clashed with demonstrators to enforce a court ruling handed down earlier in the day by the Istanbul Sixth Criminal Court of Peace. The court has ordered that the management of the newspaper and its editorial board to be replaced by the trustees board assigned by the court.
When he has been addressing to a crowd, Zaman editor-in-chief Abdülhamit Bilici said that the court decision marked a “black day for democracy” and would remain as a black stain in the Turkish history.
The leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu also denounced the court decision and called it “a violation of law targeting media freedom” which serves the ambitions of Erdogan and his party.
“I see this as an extremely serious interference with media freedom which should have no place in a democratic society. It is the latest in a string of unacceptable and undue restrictions of media freedom in Turkey,” said Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.
“We see this as the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it,” Kirby told a news briefing.
However, Erdogan government is under severe international pressure since it has been waging a war on Kurds and supporting terrorists in Syria and Iraq. Many experts suggest that, Erdogan’s involvement into the European refugee crisis should be well investigated to save European integrity.