TMSF seizes Halk TV at midnight; staff unable to say goodbye on air

The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) appointed a receiver to Halk TV through a midnight operation; police units that arrived at the channel directly took control of the broadcast command center.

Halk TV General Director Suat Toktaş explained what happened in a YouTube video he recorded with colleagues in the studio: "We were seized in a midnight operation, and the TMSF was appointed as receiver." Toktaş noted that police arrived at the command center prepared, and said that because the channel's broadcast control was taken from them, staff were unable to say goodbye to viewers on screen.

This is not the first instance of the TMSF appointing a receiver to a broadcasting organization in Turkey, though it is among the latest: the TMSF previously seized the Koza-İpek and Boydak media groups using the same method. Halk TV was one of the few television channels known for its opposition-friendly editorial policy.

Toktaş announced that they would continue journalism activities from other platforms. The channel's legal status and how its broadcast will proceed remain unclear.