# Turkiye: court installs trustees at Zaman newspaper

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The sources reviewed do not include the trustees' own account of why specific staff were dismissed.

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.[1][2][3][4]

- Country: [Türkiye](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/tr) (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)
- Where: Türkiye
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Funding and ownership pressure
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/funding_and_ownership_pressure#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.
- Head of government at the time: [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/recep-tayyip-erdogan)
- Issue of the day: Not stated in the sources reviewed.
- Outcome: Sustained, March 4, 2016. Editorial control was not restored to the original owners; the outlets were later shut down entirely under a separate July 2016 decree.
- Era: The 2010s

## 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.[1][2][3][4]

Sustained until the outlets were later closed entirely by decree in July 2016.[1][2][3][4]

## What reason was given

"the new administration does not want any stories that were 'critical of Turkey'"[1][2][3][4]

## What changed for 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.[1][2]

## Timeline

- 2016-03-04: Turkiye: court installs trustees at Zaman newspaper

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Istanbul court (Feza Media Group case)](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/ndh-turkish-court-istanbul) | other | Court that ordered trustees installed at Feza Media Group |
| [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/recep-tayyip-erdogan) | other | President of Türkiye |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Cihan News Agency](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/cihan-news-agency) | outlet | affected |
| [Feza Media Group](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/feza-media-group) | outlet | affected |
| [Today's Zaman](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/todays-zaman) | outlet | affected |
| [Zaman](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/zaman) | outlet | affected |
| [Celil Sagir](https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/celil-sagir) | journalist, Zaman | affected |
| [Sevgi Akarcesme](https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/sevgi-akarcesme) | journalist, Today's Zaman | affected |

## Sources

1. 'Erdogan is killing journalism,' says Today's Zaman editor forced out after takeover. https://cpj.org/2016/04/erdogan-is-killing-journalism-says-todays-zaman-ed/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016-04-14).
2. CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group. https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016-03-08).
3. Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Bilici, Today's Zaman's Keneş fired by trustees after gov't seizure. https://turkishminute.com/2016/03/05/zaman-daily-editor-in-chief-bilici-todays-zamans-kenes-fired-by-trustees-after-govt-seizure/ (Turkish Minute, 2016-03-05).

## Claims cited

[1] Description of the police response outside the newsroom. Quote: "police used tear gas and water cannons against journalists and protesters who gathered to support them" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016-03-08. CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group. https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/533, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] Ousted editor Sevgi Akarcesme's assessment of the takeover's scope. Quote: "Erdoğan is killing journalism. It's not just about Zaman and Today's Zaman. Everyone is targeted." Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016-04-14. 'Erdogan is killing journalism,' says Today's Zaman editor forced out after takeover. https://cpj.org/2016/04/erdogan-is-killing-journalism-says-todays-zaman-ed/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/534, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] The court's stated basis for installing trustees. Quote: "an Istanbul court on Friday ruled that Zaman and Today's Zaman support an alleged terrorist organization" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016-03-08. CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group. https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/631, checked 2026-09-22.

[4] Description of what the trustees did on taking control. Quote: "the new managers took over the dailies' servers and archives and blocked journalists' access" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016-03-08. CPJ writes to Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu to protest takeover of Feza media group. https://cpj.org/2016/03/cpj-writes-to-turkish-pm-ahmet-davutoglu-to-protes/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/632, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2016-turkiye-zaman-trustees-installed. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.