{
  "id": 162,
  "slug": "2016-turkiye-zaman-trustees-installed",
  "title": "Turkiye: court installs trustees at Zaman newspaper",
  "occurred_on": "2016-03-04",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "TR",
  "country": "TR",
  "continent": "asia",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure",
  "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
  "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
  "outcome": "sustained",
  "outcome_on": "2016-03-04",
  "outcome_note": "Editorial control was not restored to the original owners; the outlets were later shut down entirely under a separate July 2016 decree.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2010s",
  "summary": "An Istanbul court put Turkiye's best-selling newspaper, Zaman, and its parent company under trustees after ruling it supported a group the government called a terrorist organization. Police used tear gas on a crowd that gathered in support.{c:533}{c:534}{c:631}{c:632}",
  "what_happened": "On March 4, 2016, an Istanbul court ruled that Feza Media Group, publisher of the newspapers Zaman and Today's Zaman and the Cihan news agency, supported a movement led by the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen that Turkiye's government had labeled a terrorist organization. The court ordered the company placed under court-appointed trustees, who took control of its board, servers and archives and blocked existing journalists' access to their own systems. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd that had gathered outside Zaman's Istanbul office in support of the paper. Within days, the new management removed critical stories from the paper's history and installed an editorial line supportive of the government; the paper's foreign editor and other senior staff were dismissed. Today's Zaman continued for several more months before all Feza-linked outlets were permanently closed by a state-of-emergency decree following the failed coup attempt of July 2016.{c:533}{c:534}{c:631}{c:632}\n\nSustained until the outlets were later closed entirely by decree in July 2016.{c:533}{c:534}{c:631}{c:632}",
  "stated_justification": "\"the new administration does not want any stories that were 'critical of Turkey'\"{c:533}{c:534}{c:631}{c:632}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "Journalists said the paper reversed its editorial line within days and that the takeover was part of a broader effort described by one ousted editor as aimed at every independent voice, not only Zaman.{c:533}{c:534}",
  "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not include the trustees' own account of why specific staff were dismissed.",
  "status": "historical",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:20Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 9,
  "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:13Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T02:21:35Z",
  "stage": "silence",
  "ladder_note": "A court replaced a newspaper's board and editors with trustees days after a hearing without the company's lawyers present; United States funding pressure has not removed an outlet's management by court order.",
  "country_name": "Türkiye",
  "tactics": [
    "funding_and_ownership_pressure"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
    "name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/recep-tayyip-erdogan"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2016-turkiye-zaman-trustees-installed",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-23T01:18:20Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 3,
    "status": "historical",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not include the trustees' own account of why specific staff were dismissed."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "ndh-turkish-court-istanbul",
      "name": "Istanbul court (Feza Media Group case)",
      "kind": "body",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/ndh-turkish-court-istanbul"
    },
    {
      "slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
      "name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/recep-tayyip-erdogan"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "cihan-news-agency",
      "name": "Cihan News Agency",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/cihan-news-agency"
    },
    {
      "slug": "feza-media-group",
      "name": "Feza Media Group",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/feza-media-group"
    },
    {
      "slug": "todays-zaman",
      "name": "Today's Zaman",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/todays-zaman"
    },
    {
      "slug": "zaman",
      "name": "Zaman",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/zaman"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [
    {
      "slug": "celil-sagir",
      "name": "Celil Sagir",
      "outlet": "zaman",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/celil-sagir"
    },
    {
      "slug": "sevgi-akarcesme",
      "name": "Sevgi Akarcesme",
      "outlet": "todays-zaman",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/sevgi-akarcesme"
    }
  ],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 533,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 162,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Police used tear gas and water cannons on supporters",
      "statement": "Description of the police response outside the newsroom.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 377,
      "evidence_quote": "police used tear gas and water cannons against journalists and protesters who gathered to support them",
      "evidence_date": "2016-03-08",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:17Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 377,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
        "title": "CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2016-03-08",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/533"
    },
    {
      "id": 534,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 162,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Editor says the takeover targets more than one paper",
      "statement": "Ousted editor Sevgi Akarcesme's assessment of the takeover's scope.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 376,
      "evidence_quote": "Erdoğan is killing journalism. It's not just about Zaman and Today's Zaman. Everyone is targeted.",
      "evidence_date": "2016-04-14",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:18Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 376,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2016/04/erdogan-is-killing-journalism-says-todays-zaman-ed/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2016/04/erdogan-is-killing-journalism-says-todays-zaman-ed/",
        "title": "'Erdogan is killing journalism,' says Today's Zaman editor forced out after takeover",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2016-04-14",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/534"
    },
    {
      "id": 631,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 162,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Court rules Zaman supported a terrorist organization",
      "statement": "The court's stated basis for installing trustees.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 377,
      "evidence_quote": "an Istanbul court on Friday ruled that Zaman and Today's Zaman support an alleged terrorist organization",
      "evidence_date": "2016-03-08",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:33:42Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 377,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
        "title": "CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2016-03-08",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/631"
    },
    {
      "id": 632,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 162,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "New managers blocked journalists' access to servers and archives",
      "statement": "Description of what the trustees did on taking control.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 377,
      "evidence_quote": "the new managers took over the dailies' servers and archives and blocked journalists' access",
      "evidence_date": "2016-03-08",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:33:42Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 377,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
        "title": "CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2016-03-08",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/632"
    },
    {
      "id": 711,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 162,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Istanbul court appoints trustees over Feza Media",
      "statement": "Turkish Minute reported that an Istanbul court appointed trustees over the Feza Media Group, including Zaman, Today's Zaman and Cihan News Agency, on the day of the seizure.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 453,
      "evidence_quote": "An İstanbul court appointed trustees over the Feza Media Group, which includes Zaman newspaper, Today's Zaman and the Cihan News Agency on Friday",
      "evidence_date": "2016-03-05",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v3-second-sources-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T02:21:34Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 453,
        "url": "https://turkishminute.com/2016/03/05/zaman-daily-editor-in-chief-bilici-todays-zamans-kenes-fired-by-trustees-after-govt-seizure/",
        "final_url": "https://turkishminute.com/2016/03/05/zaman-daily-editor-in-chief-bilici-todays-zamans-kenes-fired-by-trustees-after-govt-seizure/",
        "title": "Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Bilici, Today's Zaman's Keneş fired by trustees after gov't seizure",
        "publisher": "Turkish Minute",
        "published_on": "2016-03-05",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/711"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 376,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2016/04/erdogan-is-killing-journalism-says-todays-zaman-ed/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2016/04/erdogan-is-killing-journalism-says-todays-zaman-ed/",
      "title": "'Erdogan is killing journalism,' says Today's Zaman editor forced out after takeover",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2016-04-14",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    },
    {
      "id": 377,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/",
      "title": "CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2016-03-08",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    },
    {
      "id": 453,
      "url": "https://turkishminute.com/2016/03/05/zaman-daily-editor-in-chief-bilici-todays-zamans-kenes-fired-by-trustees-after-govt-seizure/",
      "final_url": "https://turkishminute.com/2016/03/05/zaman-daily-editor-in-chief-bilici-todays-zamans-kenes-fired-by-trustees-after-govt-seizure/",
      "title": "Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Bilici, Today's Zaman's Keneş fired by trustees after gov't seizure",
      "publisher": "Turkish Minute",
      "published_on": "2016-03-05",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    }
  ],
  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2016-turkiye-zaman-trustees-installed/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Turkiye: court installs trustees at Zaman newspaper. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2016-turkiye-zaman-trustees-installed. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}