Turkey is facing a barrage of criticism from writers and campaigners after seizing control of a national newspaper critical of the government of President Erdogan.
An Istanbul court has ordered Feza Gazetecilik, a media group that publishes dailies Zaman and Today’s Zaman, to be placed under a "trustee panel" from today, sparking outrage from journalists.
A joint letter signed by writers and artists, and published by UK-based Index on Censorship, called the move an attempt to stifle the free press in Turkey.
The Zaman papers are highly critical of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, running daily stories of government scandals.
Zaman editor-in-chief Abdülhamit Bilici vowed that “free media would not be silenced", the Daily Hurriyet News reported.
“I believe that democracy will continue, free media will not be silenced and in whatever way necessary the free media will continue, even by writing on the walls if necessary,” he said.
Today’s Zaman editor-in-chief Sevgi Akarçeşme called the day “shameful for media freedom in the country”.
The papers are aligned with the Hizmet movement led by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally-turned-foe of Erdogan who has since fled Turkey to America after he was accused of running a parallel government in Turkey.
Turkish authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and placed him on a list of most-wanted terrorists.
The Index letter, published in both English and Turkish, reads: “Today Turkey seized one of the country’s leading newspapers, Zaman.
"In so doing, Turkey has confirmed that it is no longer committed to a free press, which is the bedrock of any democratic society."
It adds: "We, the undersigned, ask the court to reverse its decision to seize Zaman and urge the international community to speak out against Turkey’s repeated attempts to stifle a free and independent media.”
The letter was signed by Index chair and journalist David Aaronovitch, Christophe Deloire, executive director of Reporters Without Borders, and artist Molly Crabapple, along with other writers and academics.
The Turkish government has gone after Zaman before, arresting senior journalists in December 2014 on terrorism charges.
