ANKARA (Sputnik) – Turkish police on Saturday used plastic bullets in clashes with supporters of the Zaman newspaper protesting a court decision to place the opposition daily and other outlets of its parent company under state management, Turkey’s Hurriyet daily reported.
Riot police were previously reported to have deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of Zaman’s readers as protests entered their second day in Istanbul.
As part of Friday’s court order, Feza Publications media conglomerate properties – Zaman and the Cihan news agency among them – have been placed under the management of government trustees.
Access to Cihan was reported to be blocked on Saturday after the takeover.
Turkey's clampdown on journalists and restrictions on freedom of speech have been criticized by the international community, including the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Russia and the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organization.
RSF ranks Turkey 149th out of 180 countries in press freedom.
